Effect of Sumatriptan on Postdural Puncture Headache

Postdural puncture headache has been identified as the common complication of spinal anesthesia due to the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from dural punctum. The aim of study was determine the effect of Sumatriptan on the prevention of postdural puncture headache. This study was clinical trial that 204 patients participated. Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two equal-sized groups. In the first group, patients were received Sumatriptan, 25 mg orally every 8 hours for 4 doses. They were received the first dose 2 hours before induction of spinal anesthesia. In the second group, patients were received placebo at the same time intervals as the first group. Mean headache intensity was measured using 5-point verbal rating scale before treatment, then every 8 hours for 48 hours. The incidence of postdural puncture headache during 48 hours after induction of spinal anesthesia was 25.49 percent in the cases versus 37.25 percent among control group that was significant difference (P<0.05). The results of present study suggest that prophylactic Sumatriptan significantly decrease the incidence of postdural puncture headache during 48 hours after induction of spinal anesthesia.