ABSTRACT
Background
While systematic reviews have examined medication effectiveness for post-traumatic headache (PTH), they have not assessed tolerability.
Objective
To conduct a scoping review to characterize the adverse effects of pharmacotherapy for PTH.
Methods
CINAHL, CMA Infobase, Cochrane Library, Embase, Epistemonikos, MEDLINE, PEDro, PsycInfo, Scopus, SportDiscus, TRIP and the University of York Center for Reviews and Dissemination were searched. Studies meeting these criteria were included 1) English language, 2) involved humans with traumatic brain injury (TBI), 3) a medication for PTH was administered and 4) reported tolerability outcomes. Author(s), publication year, country of origin, study design, sample demographics, medication type, comparator, dose, treatment duration, adverse effect type and rate, discontinuation rate, and effectiveness outcomes were extracted.
Results
The search yielded 2941 records; 11 studies were included (n = 324 subjects). All subjects had mild TBI except for one with moderate TBI. The following therapies were examined 1) abortive (dihydroergotamine N = 1; metoclopramide N = 1; indomethacin N = 3), 2) prophylactic (divalproex sodium N = 1; amantadine N = 1; erenumab N = 2; amitriptyline N = 2). No serious adverse effects occurred. Observed adverse effects overlap with common symptoms of TBI.
Conclusion
The unique needs of people with TBI must be considered when instituting pharmacotherapy. More studies specifically evaluating medication tolerability in PTH are needed.
Disclosure of Interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2023.2165156