China Headache and Vertigo Registry Study

Days of Migraine

The number of days of migraine is the number of days in which migraine occurs or is likely to be migraine (according to IHS ICHD-3 diagnostic criteria). A migraine day is a day when a headache lasts for more than 30 minutes, does not take painkillers, and meets the ICHD-3 migraine or most likely migraine criteria. Migraine day can also be defined as a headache day that is effective for the acute treatment of specific migraine drugs (triptan, ditan, gepant, ergotamine, etc.).

Moderate / Severe Headache Days

Moderate / severe headache days are defined as a day in which moderate or severe pain persists for at least 4 hours, or headache lasts for one day after successful medication for acute headache. These definitions allow the use of relatively simple headache diaries. Subjects were required to indicate whether headache was present (yes / no), peak (mild / moderate / severe) severity and duration (\< 4h or 4h), type of acute drug intake (triptan ergot / other), and response to treatment should also be recorded.

Vertigo attack

Vertigo is a sensation of feeling off balance. Vertigo attack is defined as any vertigo or dizziness attacks, such as the condition where person has the sensation of moving or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Some questionnaires, such as the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) and Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS) are used to assess the severity of vertigo. The differential diagnosis of vertigo or dizziness can be narrowed with easy-to-perform physical examination tests, including evaluation for nystagmus, the Dix Hallpike maneuver, and orthostatic blood pressure testing.

Migraine Attack

Migraine attack is defined as any consistent migraine attacks or the use of specific migraine drugs. If a migraine attack is interrupted by sleep, or temporarily relieved, and then relapses within 48 hours, it is considered an attack. In addition, migraine attacks that were successfully treated with drugs but relapsed within 48 hours and lasted for more than 48 hours were counted as one attack.

The Response Rate of at Least 50%, 75% and 100% Reduction in the Number of Days of Migraine Attacks

The response rate is calculated as the percentage reduction in the frequency of migraine attacks (or days of migraine, or days of moderate or severe headache) compared with the baseline during each treatment period. The response rate is traditionally defined as a reduction of at least 50% from the baseline, but other percentage reductions (for example: 30%, 75%, 100%) may be used.

Headache Intensity

Four-point rating scale was used to evaluate the headache intensity of each migraine day--painless, mild, moderate, or severe. Migraine intensity is not recommended as the main outcome measure alone, but it is important to record the decrease in migraine intensity as an indicator of disability reduction. Depending on the design of the trial, subjects should be asked to record the intensity of each migraine. In addition, the 11 point visual rating scale (VAS) can be used instead or in combination with the 4-level classification rating scale. The use of VAS in clinical trials may increase the likelihood of showing differences in severity.

Cumulative Hours of Moderate / Severe Pain

The cumulative number of hours of moderate / severe pain calculated by electronic headache diaries. If an attack occurs before going to bed and when you wake up, the amount of sleep also counts as the number of headache hours.