Iatrogenic harm in paediatric and adolescent migraine patients: systematic review with meta-analysis
Approximately 30% of paediatric and adolescent migraine patients reported at least one adverse event under pharmacological prophylaxis.
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What the study showed
The meta-analysis included 40 studies, 62 subsamples, and 2742 patients; 30% experienced at least one adverse event. Topiramate was the most studied compound (22 subsamples), followed by propranolol and sodium valproate. Erenumab showed the highest adverse event rate, likely related to its administration route.
How it was done
Systematic review with PubMed and Scopus searches; meta-analysis estimated pooled proportions of adverse events with 95% CI for compounds appearing in at least two samples, regardless of dose.
Risk of bias
The abstract does not detail between-study heterogeneity or individual methodological quality; the total sample (n=2742) is spread across many subgroups, reducing per-compound precision. The abstract is truncated, preventing full evaluation of erenumab findings.
What this study does NOT prove
These aggregated adverse event data cannot establish the safety or efficacy of any specific drug for migraine prophylaxis in children and adolescents.
In clinical practice
Findings support caution when prescribing pharmacological prophylaxis in this age group, given the heterogeneous safety profile across compounds. No first-line recommendation can be drawn solely from this study.
Limitations
The abstract does not detail between-study heterogeneity or individual methodological quality; the total sample (n=2742) is spread across many subgroups, reducing per-compound precision. The abstract is truncated, preventing full evaluation of erenumab findings.
Technical appendix
Version history
- 1.0 · 2026-07-08 — Auto-generated under Evidence Standard v1.0
Paid access: structured summary from public metadata; consult the original study at the source.