Key clinical point: General anesthesia administered during major surgery poses a similar risk of postoperative migraine as neuraxial anesthesia.
Main finding: General anesthesia was not associated with a significantly higher risk of postoperative migraine compared with neuraxial anesthesia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.93; P = .357), even across patient subgroups varying in age (≥65 years: aOR 0.94; P = .698; <65 years: aOR 0.93; P = .397) or migraine subtype (with aura: aOR 1.02; P = . 929; without aura: aOR 0.73; P = .069).
Study details: The data come from a nationwide population-based cohort study that matched 68,131 patients with no prior history of migraine undergoing major surgery with general anesthesia with an equal number of those undergoing neuraxial anesthesia-supported surgery.
Disclosures: The study was sponsored by Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. The authors declared having no conflicts of interest.
Source: Liao C-Y et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;19(1):362 (Dec 30). Doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010362.