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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
A new observational study found that gabapentin — commonly used off-label for pediatric migraine — didn't improve pain scores and was linked to longer hospital stays and higher readmission rates in children. Researchers analyzed over 2,000 admissions at a major pediatric hospital and found no meaningful benefit. Experts are now calling for rigorous randomized trials to better guide inpatient migraine treatment in kids.
Gabapentin is widely used off-label to manage migraine in children, but a new observational study suggests the anticonvulsant may not be earning its place in pediatric inpatient care. Researchers at Phoenix Children's Hospital analyzed over 2,000 migraine-related admissions from 2019 to 2024 and found that kids who received gabapentin during their stay showed no meaningful improvement in pain scores compared to those who didn't.
What's more, the gabapentin group fared worse on key outcomes — staying in the hospital longer and being readmitted at higher rates across all follow-up windows. Researchers caution that confounding factors, like treatment resistance or headache severity, may explain some of these differences, so no causal conclusions can be drawn.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: With roughly 1 in 7 hospitalized pediatric migraine patients receiving gabapentin, these findings challenge current prescribing patterns and underscore the urgent need for randomized controlled trials to identify truly effective inpatient treatments for children with migraine.
