ArticleClinical and experimental emergency medicine2017
Single-dose intravenous sodium valproate (Depakine) versus dexamethasone for the treatment of acute migraine headache: a double-blind randomized clinical trial.
Article in Clinical and experimental emergency medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and safety of intravenous valproate in agitation: a systematic review.Psychopharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- Therapeutic Overlap Between Bipolar Disorder and Migraine: A Systematic Review of Pharmacological Trials.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- All Roads Lead to the Gut: The Importance of the Microbiota and Diet in Migraine.Neurology international · 2023Review
- Efficacy of IV Valproic Acid and Oral Valproic Acid Tapers for the Treatment of Pediatric Headaches in the Emergency Department.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2023Article
- Comorbid Bipolar Disorder and Migraine: From Mechanisms to Treatment.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Review
- Mitochondria in migraine pathophysiology - does epigenetics play a role?Archives of medical science : AMS · 2019Article
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
objectiveMigraine headache is a chronic and disabling condition in adults. Some studies have investigated the efficacy of sodium valproate in the treatment of acute migraine, but the effectiveness and tolerability of intravenous valproate as abortive therapy remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of sodium valproate and dexamethasone in the treatment of acute migraine.
methodsWe conducted a double-blind randomized clinical trial including 90 patients aged 18 to 65 years with acute migraine headache but no aura. Patients were randomized to receive intravenous dexamethasone (8 mg) or sodium valproate (400 mg) diluted into 4 mL of normal saline. The primary outcome measure was pain relief after 0.5, 1, 3, or 6 hours after administration. The secondary outcome criteria were the associated symptom recovery, rate of headache recurrence after 24 hours, and medication side effects. Pearson's chi square and the t-test were employed in the data analysis.
resultsOf the 90 patients, 80 were investigated. The percentage of headache improvement at 0.5 hours after treatment was 55% and 67.5% in the sodium valproate and dexamethasone groups, respectively. Before-treatment and 0.5 hour after treatment pain severity visual analog scale scores were 9.05±0.90 and 3.8±3.09 in the sodium valproate group and 8.92±0.79 and 3.10±2.73 in the dexamethasone group, respectively. There were no significant intergroup differences.
conclusionThis randomized clinical trial showed that the intravenous injection of sodium valproate 400 mg has similar effects to those of dexamethasone for improving acute migraine headache.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.