Treatment of chronic daily posttraumatic headache with divalproex sodium

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of divalproex sodium in the treatment of chronic daily posttraumatic headaches. BACKGROUND: Divalproex sodium has been found to be useful for the treatment of migraine and chronic daily headache. No studies have been done to evaluate effectiveness in posttraumatic headache. METHODS: A retrospective review was done of 100 patients treated with divalproex for chronic daily posttraumatic headache of 2 months or longer. RESULTS: Sixty percent of patients with chronic posttraumatic headache had mild to moderate improvement in their headaches after at least 1 month of divalproex sodium. Forty percent either showed no response (26%) or discontinued treatment because of side effects (14%). Fifty-eight percent of patients showing improvement had a change in headache pattern from daily to episodic. CONCLUSIONS: Divalproex sodium appears to be safe and effective for treatment of patients with persistent, chronic daily posttraumatic headaches.