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The strengthening of general neurology and the consolidation of specialized nursing are essential to improve care for patients with migraine in Spain. This is what the Dr. Germán Latorreneurologist of Fuenlabrada University Hospitalwho defends the need to enhance the role of general neurologists and headache units, as well as incorporate more specialized nursing staff, to deal with a pathology that affects more than five million people in our country.
Currently, the ratio of neurologists in Spain is 4.6 per 100,000 inhabitants, far from the objective of 6.7 neurologists planned for 2029 according to the Ministry of Health. This situation shows the need to adopt planning and training measures, especially in pathologies such as migraine, whose impact on the population is notable for its prevalence and its disabling nature.
For Dr. Latorre, care for patients with migraine should not be limited exclusively to the units specialized in headaches, but can also and should be assumed by general neurologists. “Migraine is a pathology that can be addressed in general neurology consultations, especially in less complex cases. There are currently effective treatments that have simple management that general neurologists are perfectly trained to use”explains the specialist.
The general neurologist can address less complex cases of migraine, thus decongesting the units specialized in headaches
This model already applies to the University Hospital of Fuenlabrada, where monographic headache consultations coexist with attention from general neurology, allowing a more agile derivation and more fluid attention between both care levels. According to Dr. Latorre, this experience shows that the general neurologist can assume a leading role in the attention of migraine, contributing to decongesting specialized units and improving the response to the patient.
The specialist also highlights the importance of nursing specialized in neurology. “The incorporation of nursing into the neurology service provides enormous value: it relieves the consultations, improves the quality of care and is being very well valued by the patients themselves,” Point out. In the University Hospital of Fuenlabrada, benefits have already been observed in the first months of joint work with nursing staff.
More than 40% of patients with migraine have no diagnosis, despite being one of the main causes of disability in adults under 50 years
Migraine, considered one of the main causes of disability in adults under 50 and the first among women, is still infradiagnosed in Spain. It is estimated that more than 40% of patients do not know their diagnosis, and pathology contributes significantly to absenteeism and work presentism. “Migraine is a public health problem, although it is not recognized as such, and requires public health policies, not only individual”concludes Dr. Latorre.
Beyond the headache, Migraine is an incapacitating neurological diseasecharacterized by intense headaches, accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and episodes that can last days if they are not treated properly. The Spanish Neurology Society estimates that affects 15-20% of women and 5-8% of men in Spain.
