Trial reportPloS one2015
Effect of intravenous sodium valproate vs dexamethasone on acute migraine headache: a double blind randomized clinical trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Saudi clinical practice guidelines for the treatment and prevention of migraine headache.Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) · 2025Guideline
- Effectiveness and safety of intravenous valproate in agitation: a systematic review.Psychopharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Randomized Trial Comparing Low- vs High-Dose IV Dexamethasone for Patients With Moderate to Severe Migraine.Neurology · 2023Trial
- Effectiveness of intravenous dexamethasone, metoclopramide, ketorolac, and chlorpromazine for pain relief and prevention of recurrence in the migraine headache: a prospective double-blind randomized clinical trial.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2019Trial
- Therapeutic Overlap Between Bipolar Disorder and Migraine: A Systematic Review of Pharmacological Trials.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Efficacy of IV Valproic Acid and Oral Valproic Acid Tapers for the Treatment of Pediatric Headaches in the Emergency Department.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2023Article
- Emergency Department and Inpatient Management of Headache in Adults.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2020Review
- Consensus of the Hellenic Headache Society on the diagnosis and treatment of migraine.The journal of headache and pain · 2019Article
- Single-dose intravenous sodium valproate (Depakine) versus dexamethasone for the treatment of acute migraine headache: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2017Article
- Valproate Attenuates Nitroglycerin-Induced Trigeminovascular Activation by Preserving Mitochondrial Function in a Rat Model of Migraine.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the impact of sodium valproate and dexamethasone on migraine headache, the efficacy of the two drugs has not been properly investigated and compared. This trial compared the effect of the two drugs on acute migraine headache.
methodsThis double blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on patients aged 18 to 65 years with acute migraine headache who referred to the emergency departments of Beasat and Farshchian Hospitals in Hamadan, Iran, from April 2012 to June 2014. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a single-dose of either 400 mg sodium valproate or 16 mg dexamethasone plus 50 ml saline normal solution within 15 min intravenously. The severity of headache in the two groups was evaluated at baseline, 0.5 and 2 hours later using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) on a scale of 0 to 10.
resultsOf 104 patients enrolled, 72 patients remained for analysis. The effect of both sodium valproate and dexamethasone on acute migraine headache was statistically significant at 0.5 and 2 hours post-treatment compared to pre-treatment (P=0.001). The severity of headache based on VAS reduced form 8.20 (7.72, 8.68) before treatment to 5.31 (4.74, 5.89) and 3.66 (2.99, 4.33) at 0.5 and 2 hours after treatment, respectively, in patients receiving sodium valproate and from 8.46 (8.05, 8.86) before treatment to 5.46 (4.81, 6.11) and 3.59 (2.84, 4.35) at 0.5 and 2 hours after treatment, respectively, in patients receiving dexamethasone. Both drugs were highly effective in improvement of acute headache in patients without aura. However, sodium valproate significantly improved the acute headache in patients with aura but dexamethasone did not. The severity of headache based on VAS reduced form 8.50 (7.40, 9.60) before treatment to 4.67 (2.40, 6.93) and 3.50 (1.78, 5.22) at 0.5 and 2 hours after treatment, respectively, in patients with aura receiving sodium valproate and from 8.80 (7.76, 9.84) before treatment to 7.20 (4.98, 9.42) and 6.20 (2.43, 9.97) at 0.5 and 2 hours after treatment, respectively, in patients with aura receiving dexamethasone.
conclusionsThis trial indicated that, in overall, intravenous sodium valproate is not superior to intravenous dexamethasone in treatment of acute migraine attacks. However, in patients with aura, only sodium valproate but not dexamethasone is effective in headache relief. This issue needs further investigations.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov IRCT201202199014N1.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.