Migraine episodes that persist for at least 3 days despite treatment are termed status migrainosus. Traditionally, these long-lasting migraine episodes were treated with brief in-patient hospitalisations for iv. medication. The full duration of disability associated with these episodes includes both the several days of migraine and the several days of hospital stay. The development of medications that specifically target the mechanism of migraine, such as dihydroergotamine and the triptans, has reduced the number of headache episodes that persist after initial treatment or fail to respond to self-administered therapy.