Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42260920›Full record

Trial reportHeadache2026

Impact of IV metoclopramide + diphenhydramine on post-concussion symptoms. A secondary analysis of data from an ED-based randomized study.

Victoria Cao, Elimelech Strassman, Andrew Chertoff, Alexis Cortijo-Brown, Michael McGregor, Andrew R Williams, Michael P Jones, Benjamin W Friedman

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Headache, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Victoria CaoMedical College, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.
Elimelech StrassmanYeshiva College, Yeshiva University, New York, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8697-1041
Andrew ChertoffDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.
Alexis Cortijo-BrownDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.
Michael McGregorDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.
Andrew R WilliamsDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.
Michael P JonesDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8500-4075
Benjamin W FriedmanDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore, Bronx, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2753-5860

Funding

Einstein-Montefiore Clinical and Translational Science Award HubUM1TR004400 · NCATS · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI Jessica Kahn, Mimi Y Kim · 2023 to 2026
$17.3M
NCATS NIH HHS UM1 TR004400NCATS NIH HHS UM1TR004400
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn a randomized, placebo-controlled study, intravenous metoclopramide 20 mg + diphenhydramine 25 mg (M+D) improved post-concussion symptoms 1 h later among patients seeking care in an emergency department (ED) following head trauma. We performed a secondary hypothesis-generating analysis of those data to determine whether M+D is effective against cognitive and affective symptoms in addition to somatic symptoms, and whether post-treatment symptomatology is associated with 1-week and 1-month outcomes.

methodsWe enrolled patients in two urban EDs in the Bronx, NY. Enrollment commenced in August 2017 and concluded in March 2020. Patients were included in the initial randomized controlled trial if they experienced head trauma and reported a new onset headache of at least moderate or severe intensity. We assessed post-concussion symptoms at 1 h, 1 week, and 1 month after treatment using the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), a 22-item instrument on which each symptom is graded as zero (none) through 6 (severe). We determined the impact of treatment, time, and their interaction on PCSS score. We repeated this analysis among the somatic, cognitive, and affective domains of the PCSS scale. Finally, we determined if post-treatment PCSS scores in the ED were associated with any severe symptom 1 week and 1 month later.

resultsEighty-one participants received M+D; of those, 30 (37.0%) were female. Their mean age was 43.3 (standard deviation 16.1) years. All 81 provided 1-h data; 72 (89.9%) provided 1-week data; and 61 (75.3%) provided 1-month data. Seventy-nine received placebo; of those, 23 (29.1%) were female. Their mean age was 45.7 (SD 17.3) years. All 79 provided 1-h data; 67 (84.8%) provided 1-week data; and 54 (68.4%) 1-month data. At 1 h, the overall mean PCSS score was 20.8 (SD 20.2); at 1 week it was 17.4 (SD 23.0); and at 1 month it was 19.5 (SD 27.7). Participants who received M+D reported lower post-concussion symptom scores on the PCSS at 1 h (9.2 units lower, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.0, 16.4) but not at 1 week (7.2, 95% CI: -0.4, 14.9) or 1 month (2.4, 95% CI: -5.9, 10.8). In the main mixed-effects model, there was a significant effect of treatment (p = 0.008), indicating overall lower PCSS scores in the M+D group across follow-up, although not for time (p = 0.289) or treatment-by-time interaction (p = 0.175). The treatment effect remained significant in the affective (p = 0.002) and cognitive (0.010) domains. PCSS scores prior to ED discharge were associated with severe symptoms at 1 week (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.04), but not 1 month (adjusted OR 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.04).

conclusionIn this exploratory secondary analysis, M+D improved post-concussive symptoms 1 h after treatment, including affective and cognitive post-concussion symptoms. PCSS scores after treatment are associated with 1-week but not 1-month outcomes.

Indexed as

DiphenhydramineMetoclopramidePost-Concussion SyndromeAdultDouble-Blind MethodDrug Therapy, CombinationEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTreatment OutcomeDiphenhydramineMetoclopramideaffectivecognitiveconcussionmetoclopramidepost‐concussion syndromepost‐traumatic headachesomatictraumatic brain injury

Identifiers

PMID42260920
PMCPMC13571059

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.