Objectives: To investigate prognostic factors for long-term outcome of patients after inpatient withdrawal because of drug-induced chronic daily headache.
Procedures: Fifty-five patients (36 females) were re-examined by means of a standardized interview after inpatient withdrawal. The mean observation period was 9.28 +/- 2.85 years (mean +/- SD; median 8.58; range 5.00-13.50).
Results: Five years after withdrawal, one-third of the patients (34.6%) had an overall favourable outcome, one-third (32.7%) had no recurrent drug overuse and reported a clear-cut improvement of headache, and one-third (32.7%) developed recurrent drug overuse. Most relapses occurred within 2 years, and a small percentage within 5 years. No predictors for long-term outcome after inpatient withdrawal were found.
Conclusions: All patients with drug-induced chronic daily headache should be considered as good candidates for inpatient withdrawal, and no patient should be excluded from that therapy.