Oral aspirin could be useful for the acute treatment of episodic tension-type headache | Mediterranean Journal of Emergency Medicine

SOURCE
Derry S, Wiffen PJ, Moore RA. (2017). Aspirin for acute treatment of episodic tension-type headache in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev1:CD011888.

CONTEXT
Tension-type headache (TTH) is the most common form of headache in the world. Despite the benign nature, TTH has an enormous economic and social burden on society (consultation, work absence).

CLINICAL QUESTION
Is oral aspirin safe and effective in adults who suffer from frequent TTH episodes (2 to 14 per month) with moderate to severe intensity?

BOTTOM LINE
The predefined efficacy outcome of this meta-analysis, as defined by the International Headache Society preferred outcome of being pain-free at two hours, could not be calculated due to lack of data.Use of rescue medication was lower with aspirin than with placebo (low quality of evidence).Aspirin produced more satisfied participants than did placebo (very low quality of evidence).Considering the adverse events, no difference was present between aspirin and placebo (low level of evidence).

CAVEAT
Results of this meta-analysis are valid in adults who suffer frequent episodic TTH with moderate to severe intensity. The appropriate dose of aspirin (500, 600 or 1000 mg) could not be determined due to the small number of the studies. Regarding adverse events, tolerability was evaluated for the single dose.

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Haldun AKOGLU
Marmara University School of Medicine
Istanbul, Turkey
Haldun.akoglu@marmara.edu.tr