ReviewThe journal of headache and pain2022
European Headache Federation (EHF) consensus on the definition of effective treatment of a migraine attack and of triptan failure.
Review in The journal of headache and pain, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 5 of them syntheses 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
42 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of rimegepant for acute and preventive treatment of migraine: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Acupuncture for migraine: a literature review of neuroimaging studies.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of lasmiditan, rimegepant and ubrogepant for acute treatment of migraine in triptan insufficient responders: systematic review and network meta-analysis.The journal of headache and pain · 2024Pooled it
- Time Course of Rimegepant Effect for Acute Treatment of Migraine in Adults Unsuitable for Triptans: Exploratory Endpoints from a Phase 4, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.Neurology and therapy · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of General Neurologists and Headache Experts Toward Migraine Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study in India.Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology · 2026Article
- Psychological interventions for migraine.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2026Review
- Consistency of response to rimegepant for the acute treatment of migraine among real-world users - findings from the prospective observational CONFIDENCE study.The journal of headache and pain · 2026Observational
- Article
- Post Hoc Subgroup Analyses of the Efficacy and Safety of Zavegepant for the Acute Treatment of Migraine According to Baseline Triptan Experience.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- The use of triptans and other acute treatments for the management of migraine in routine clinical practice in England: a retrospective cohort study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD).BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Prevalence, characteristics and management of migraine patients with triptan failure in primary care: the EMR France-Mig study.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Influence of triptans use on anti-CGRP mAbs response: a prospective, cohort study.Journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Expert consensus on gepants for acute and preventive treatment of migraine in Thailand.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Review
- Prevalence, disability, and economic impact of migraine in Spain: a nationwide population-based study.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Head-to-head relief: ubrogepant, rimegepant, and zavegepant in migraine treatment.Pain management · 2025Review
- Differences in pharmacological migraine treatment across different levels of clinical headache care - a cross-sectional study.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Observational
- Lasmiditan and Different Triptans in Menstrual Migraine: A Bayesian Network Meta-analysis.Pain and therapy · 2025Review
- Framing and Management of Migraines in Women: An Expert Opinion on Challenges, Current Approaches, and Future Multidisciplinary Perspectives.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 16 institutions in 14 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTriptans are migraine-specific acute treatments. A well-accepted definition of triptan failure is needed in clinical practice and for research. The primary aim of the present Consensus was to provide a definition of triptan failure. To develop this definition, we deemed necessary to develop as first a consensus definition of effective treatment of an acute migraine attack and of triptan-responder. MAIN BODY: The Consensus process included a preliminary literature review, a Delphi round and a subsequent open discussion. According to the Consensus Panel, effective treatment of a migraine attack is to be defined on patient well-being featured by a) improvement of headache, b) relief of non-pain symptoms and c) absence of adverse events. An attack is considered effectively treated if patient's well-being, as defined above, is restored within 2 hours and for at least 24 hours. An individual with migraine is considered as triptan-responder when the given triptan leads to effective acute attack treatment in at least three out of four migraine attacks. On the other hand, an individual with migraine is considered triptan non-responder in the presence of failure of a single triptan (not matching the definition of triptan-responder). The Consensus Panel defined an individual with migraine as triptan-resistant in the presence of failure of at least 2 triptans; triptan refractory, in the presence of failure to at least 3 triptans, including subcutaneous formulation; triptan ineligibile in the presence of an acknowledged contraindication to triptan use, as specified in the summary of product characteristics.
conclusionsThe novel definitions can be useful in clinical practice for the assessment of acute attack treatments patients with migraine. They may be helpful in identifying people not responding to triptans and in need for novel acute migraine treatments. The definitions will also be of help in standardizing research on migraine acute care.
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.