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July 11, 2017; 89 (2) ArticleOpen Access

A randomized trial of telemedicine efficacy and safety for nonacute headaches

Kai I. Müller, Karl B. Alstadhaug, Svein I. Bekkelund
First published June 14, 2017, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000004085
Kai I. Müller
From the Department of Clinical Medicine (K.I.M., K.B.A., S.I.B.), UiT–The Arctic University of Norway; Department of Neurology (K.I.M., S.I.B.), University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø; and Department of Neurology (K.B.A.), Nordland Hospital Trust, Bodø, Norway.
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Karl B. Alstadhaug
From the Department of Clinical Medicine (K.I.M., K.B.A., S.I.B.), UiT–The Arctic University of Norway; Department of Neurology (K.I.M., S.I.B.), University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø; and Department of Neurology (K.B.A.), Nordland Hospital Trust, Bodø, Norway.
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Svein I. Bekkelund
From the Department of Clinical Medicine (K.I.M., K.B.A., S.I.B.), UiT–The Arctic University of Norway; Department of Neurology (K.I.M., S.I.B.), University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø; and Department of Neurology (K.B.A.), Nordland Hospital Trust, Bodø, Norway.
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A randomized trial of telemedicine efficacy and safety for nonacute headaches
Kai I. Müller, Karl B. Alstadhaug, Svein I. Bekkelund
Neurology Jul 2017, 89 (2) 153-162; DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000004085

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Abstract

Objective: To evaluate long-term treatment efficacy and safety of one-time telemedicine consultations for nonacute headaches.

Methods: We randomized, allocated, and consulted nonacute headache patients via telemedicine (n = 200) or in a traditional manner (n = 202) in a noninferiority trial. Efficacy endpoints, assessed by questionnaires at 3 and 12 months, included change from baseline in Headache Impact Test–6 (HIT-6) (primary endpoint) and pain intensity (visual analogue scale [VAS]) (secondary endpoint). The primary safety endpoint, assessed via patient records, was presence of secondary headache within 12 months after consultation.

Results: We found no differences between telemedicine and traditional consultations in HIT-6 (p = 0.84) or VAS (p = 0.64) over 3 periods. The absolute difference in HIT-6 from baseline was 0.3 (95% confidence interval [CI] −1.26 to 1.82, p = 0.72) at 3 months and 0.2 (95% CI −1.98 to 1.58, p = 0.83) at 12 months. The absolute change in VAS was 0.4 (95% CI −0.93 to 0.22, p = 0.23) after 3 months and 0.3 (95% CI −0.94 to 0.29, p = 0.30) at 12 months. We found one secondary headache in each group at 12 months. The estimated number of consultations needed to miss one secondary headache with the use of telemedicine was 20,200.

Conclusion: Telemedicine consultation for nonacute headache is as efficient and safe as a traditional consultation.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02270177.

Classification of evidence: This study provides Class III evidence that a one-time telemedicine consultation for nonacute headache is noninferior to a one-time traditional consultation regarding long-term treatment outcome and safety.

GLOSSARY

ANOVA=
analysis of variance;
CI=
confidence interval;
FLAIR=
fluid-attenuated inversion recovery;
HIT-6=
Headache Impact Test–6;
VAS=
visual analogue scale

Footnotes

  • Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article. The Article Processing Charge was funded by grants from Helse Nord RHF (The Northern Norway Regional Health Authority).

  • Supplemental data at Neurology.org

  • Received October 7, 2016.
  • Accepted in final form March 16, 2017.
  • Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND), which permits downloading and sharing the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

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