IHC 2021 | Refractory vs resistant migraine consensus

The management of headache disorders has witnessed significant advances, yet some patients with migraine do not experience adequate pain relief with the currently available treatments. Simona Sacco, MD, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy, discusses the European Headache Federation (EHF) consensus on the definition of resistant and refractory migraine. In order to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology and support the development of new treatments for the difficult-to-treat migraine, new criteria and definitions needed to be created. Therefore, the EHF Expert Consensus Group proposed two categories of difficult-to-treat migraine: resistant migraine and refractory migraine. The difference between resistant and refractory migraine relies on the number of required previous treatment failures. Dr Sacco explains the importance of defining and identifying those patients to respond to their different needs and implement those needs in clinical and research settings. This interview took place during the International Headache Congress 2021.