Published online Jul 20, 2022. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v12.i4.319
Peer-review started: February 4, 2022
First decision: April 11, 2022
Revised: April 26, 2022
Accepted: July 11, 2022
Article in press: July 11, 2022
Published online: July 20, 2022
Processing time: 165 Days and 12.9 Hours
Metoclopramide may be used to treat people suffering from acute migraine. However, no comprehensive investigation on this issue has been recorded. This review will provide more solid evidence for the use of metoclopramide in treating acute migraine.
Metoclopramide was considered the “probably effective drug”, even though several studies showed the efficacy of metoclopramide monotherapy. It has been investigated that the efficacy of metoclopramide was neither inferior to sumatriptan nor opioid. Moreover, apart from the efficacy aspect, metoclopramide showed superiority in other aspects, such as lower adverse severe effects and lower addiction rates.
The objective of this review was to investigate the efficacy of intravenous metoclopramide with other therapies in migraine attack treatment in an emergency department (ED).
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
The administration of received intravenous metoclopramide was an effective treatment for migraine headache in adults, compared with placebo. However, the benefit of metoclopramide was not superior to other drugs.
Metoclopramide is more effective than placebo in treating migraine in the ED. Although its effectiveness was not observed on other medications, clinicians may select metoclopramide as one of the first line treatments for acute migraine.
Despite the observed tendency of decreased side effects, the effectiveness of metoclopramide compared to other regimens is poorly understood. More research on this area is needed to treat migraine in acute care settings effectively.