Intravenous Magnesium Sulfate to Treat Acute Headaches in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Non-traumatic headaches comprise up to 4% of all emergency department (ED) visits. Current practice is moving toward multimodal analgesia regimens that limit narcotic use. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review is to address the following research question: In patients with non-traumatic headaches (Population), does administration of intravenous magnesium sulfate (Intervention) compared to placebo, corticosteroids, dopamine antagonists, ergot alkaloids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), triptans, or usual care result in better pain control, lower rate of recurrence at 24 hours, lower requirements for rescue analgesia, and less adverse medication effects (Outcomes)? METHODS: Scholarly databases and relevant bibliographies were searched, as were clinical trial registries and relevant conference proceedings to limit publication bias. Studies were not limited by date, language, or publication status. Inclusion criteria were: (1) randomized clinical trial (RCT), (2) patients age ≥18 years, (3) non-traumatic headache, (4) patients treated in ED or an outpatient acute care treatment center, and (5) magnesium sulfate administered intravenously (IV). Eligible comparison groups included: placebo, conventional therapy, dopamine antagonist, NSAID, corticosteroid, ergot alkaloid, or triptans. RESULTS: Out of 4018 identified references, 7 RCTs (545 participants) that treated migraine headaches (n = 6) and benign non-traumatic headaches (n = 1) met inclusion criteria. Pain intensity was improved with magnesium sulfate vs comparators at 60-120 minutes, but not at earlier time points. Result for the endpoint of pain reduction by 50% were conflicting as 3 studies reported that headache was improved, unchanged, and less with magnesium sulfate. Complete pain relief was improved with magnesium sulfate in 1 study, and in the migraine with aura (MA) subgroup in another. The need for rescue analgesia at any point was improved with magnesium sulfate in 1 study, and in the MA subgroup in another. Twenty-four-hour headache recurrence was improved with magnesium sulfate in 1 study, but unchanged in a second. The intended meta-analysis was not performed due to the clinical heterogeneity among studies. CONCLUSION: While we cannot draw a firm conclusion on the efficacy or benefit of intravenous magnesium sulfate in the treatment of acute non-traumatic headaches, the existing evidence indicates potential benefits in pain control beyond 1 hour, aura duration, and need for rescue analgesia.

Neuroleptanalgesia for acute abdominal pain: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Acute abdominal pain (AAP) comprises up to 10% of all emergency department (ED) visits. Current pain management practice is moving toward multi-modal analgesia regimens that decrease opioid use. OBJECTIVE: This project sought to determine whether, in patients with AAP (population), does administration of butyrophenone antipsychotics (intervention) compared to placebo, usual care, or opiates alone (comparisons) improve analgesia or decrease opiate consumption (outcomes)? METHODS: A structured search was performed in Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, Directory of Open Access Journals, Embase, IEEE-Xplorer, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, Magiran, PubMed, Scientific Information Database, Scopus, TÜBITAK ULAKBIM, and Web of Science. Clinical trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry), relevant bibliographies, and conference proceedings were also searched. Searches were not limited by date, language, or publication status. Studies eligible for inclusion were prospective randomized clinical trials enrolling patients (age ≥18 years) with AAP treated in acute care environments (ED, intensive care unit, postoperative). The butyrophenone must have been administered either intravenously or intra-muscularly. Comparison groups included placebo, opiate only, corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or acetaminophen. RESULTS: We identified 7,217 references. Six studies met inclusion criteria. One study assessed ED patients with AAP associated with gastroparesis, whereas five studies assessed patients with postoperative AAP: abdominal hysterectomy (n=4), sleeve gastrectomy (n=1). Three of four studies found improvements in pain intensity with butyrophenone use. Three of five studies reported no change in postoperative opiate consumption, while two reported a decrease. One ED study reported no change in patient satisfaction, while one postoperative study reported improved satisfaction scores. Both extrapyramidal side effects (n=3) and sedation (n=3) were reported as unchanged. CONCLUSION: Based on available evidence, we cannot draw a conclusion on the efficacy or benefit of neuroleptanalgesia in the management of patients with AAP. However, preliminary data suggest that it may improve analgesia and decrease opiate consumption.