Auriculotherapy in prevention of migraine attacks: an open randomized trial

Abstract

Use of auriculotherapy to prevent episodic migraine pain has seldom been reported. The aim of this open study was to show that three sessions of auriculotherapy, 1 month apart, using semi-permanent needles decrease frequency and intensity of an attack in patients presenting episodic migraine. A total of 90 patients were randomized to the treatment group (AUR group, n = 58) or the control group (C group, n = 32). Four patients dropped out during the study (three in the AUR group and one in the C group). The number of days with migraine and non-migraine headache was similar when the analysis focused on the 3 months of the study or on the difference in each group of this number between the 3 months preceding the inclusion and the 3 months of the study (p = 0.123). AUR group patients had fewer days with non-migraine headache (p = 0.011) and took less Triptans (p = 0.045) than group C. Number of days with migraine, sum of the pain intensities of all migraines and non-migraine headaches, and total number of analgesics taken, other than triptan, were similar between groups. MIDAS score decreased with time in the AUR group while it increased in the C group whether in absolute values (p = 0.035) or as categories (p = 0.037). These contrasted results should lead to further study of the effectiveness of auriculotherapy for the prevention of migraine. Clinical trail registration: Protocol registered on the Clinicaltrials.gov, website (January 30, 2017, NCT03036761).

Keywords: auriculotherapy; headache; life quality; migraine; pain measurement; randomized controlled trial.