Propofol on Trial for Headaches in the Emergency Department Setting

Headache is a common reason why patients present to the hospital emergency department. Often patients are presenting to hospital for the simple reason that they are experiencing a headache that is not responding to commonly available medications used to get rid of headaches. Unfortunately there is not good evidence to support which available hospital medications consistently offer effective pain relief to individuals with these types of refractory headache. Understandably this is a challenging scenario in the emergency department setting for both the patient and physician that often leads to inadequate or unsatisfactory symptom relief. However a few small trials to date have shown promising evidence that the medication propofol is potentially an effective, safe and quick treatment alternative for stubborn headaches. It is important to note that propofol is not a new medication and is routinely used on a daily basis throughout hospitals for both general anaesthesia and procedural sedation. It is the intention of this research project to demonstrate that infusing a low dose of this medication over a relatively short period of time is an effective new use for a familiar and already commonly utilised medication. This has the potential to introduce a new safe and effective treatment option for stubborn headaches that can significantly reduce treatment times by rapidly restoring patients to baseline levels of function and comfort. Furthermore it reduces overall lengths of stay in the emergency department and contributes to overall improved emergency department patient flow.