Academic Life in Emergency Medicine - Saturday, May 25, 2013
Propofol for the treatment of migraines in
the ED might be on the horizon.
"This will possibly be a new practice in emergency medicine, although it has been known for some time. Propofol, when given at procedural sedation doses, seems to miraculously terminate migraines refractory to usual treatment.
Patients
awake with minimal to no headache and may be discharged from the ED much quicker
than traditional treatment with possibly less side effects. The proposed
mechanism of action is described in below papers, but in short, propofol seems
to "reboot" the brain and terminate the migraine."