Real-world Experience with Remote Electrical Neuromodulation in the Acute Treatment of Migraine
Tepper et al., Pain Medicine, 2020
Objective: Remote electrical neuromodulation (REN) is a nonpharmacological acute migraine treatment that stimulates upper-arm peripheral nerves. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of REN for acute treatment of migraine in a real-world setting.
Methods: Real-world data were collected from patients who were using REN (Nerivio®, Theranica Bio-Electronics Ltd., Israel) between October 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020. Patients recorded their symptoms at baseline, two hours, and 24 hours post-treatment. Patients were stratified based on the type of visit and provider; in-person visits with headache specialists (HS group) or virtual visits with nonheadache specialists (NHS group). Efficacy outcome focused on intra-individual consistency of response across multiple attacks.
Results: We found that 58.9% (662/1,123) of the patients in the HS group and 74.2% (23/31) of the patients in the NHS group experienced pain relief at two hours in at least 50% of their treated attacks and 20.0% (268/1,339) of the patients in the HS group and 35.6% (16/45) of the patients in the NHS group experienced pain freedom at two hours in at least 50% of their treated attacks. The effects of REN on associated symptoms and improvement in function were also consistent in both groups. The incidence of device-related adverse events was very low (0.5%).
Table 1 - Efficacy outcomes in the two migraine cohorts
*HS = headache specialists
Conclusions: Real-world data confirm that REN results in meaningful clinical benefits with minimal side effects. REN may provide an effective drug-free treatment option for achieving consistent relief from migraine symptoms and may reduce the use of acute medications.
