Definition
A headache or cephalagia is pain anywhere in the region of head or neck. Headache can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of pain sensitive structures around the head and neck.[Headache]
Types of headache
- Part I: The Primary Headaches
- Part II: The Secondary Headaches
- Part III: Cranial Neuralgias, Central and Primary Facial Pain And Other Headaches
PRIMARY HEADACHE
Primary headaches are benign, recurrent headaches not caused by underlying disease or structural problems. primary headaches may cause significant daily pain and disability but they are not dangerous. It includes
1. Migraine
2. Tension-type headache (TTH)
3. Cluster headache and other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TAC)
4. Other primary headaches
SECONDARY HEADACHE
Secondary headaches are caused by an underlying disease, like an infection, head injury, vascular disorders, brain bleed or tumors. Secondary headaches can be harmless or dangerous. It includes
1. Post traumatic Headache
2. Vascular Headache of cranial or cervical origin
3. Non vascular headache intracranial origin
4. Post infective headache
5. Headache due to substance abuse/withdrawal
6. Headache due to disorder of homoeostasis
7. Headache due to non cranial causes
8. Headache attributed to psychiatric disorders
MIGRAINE WITH AURA
- Typical aura with migraine headache
- Typical aura with non-migraine headache
- Typical aura without headache
- Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM)
- Sporadic hemiplegic migraine
- Basilar-type migraine
COMPLICATIONS OF MIGRAINE
- Chronic migraine
- Status migrainous
- Persistent aura without infarction
- Migrainous infarction
- Migraine-triggered seizure
Tension Headache
International Headache Society Diagnostic Criteria
- Duration
- Pain characteristics (at least 2)
I) Pressing/tightening quality
II) Mild to moderate severity Bilateral location
III) No aggravation by routine physical activity
- Associate symptoms (Must have both)
No more than one of: nausea, photophobia, phono-phobia H&P and diagnostic tests do not suggest underlying organic disease
Migraine Without Aura
International Headache Society Diagnostic Criteria
- At least 6 or more periodic attacks
- Duration
4-72 h if untreated or unsuccessfully treated
- Pain characteristics (at least 2)
- Unilateral location
- Pulsating quality
- Moderate to severe intensity
- Aggravation by walking stairs or similar physical activity
- Associated symptoms (at least 1)
- Nausea, vomiting, or both Photophobia or phono-phobia
- H&P and diagnostic tests do not suggest underlying organic disease
Migraine With Aura
International Headache Society Diagnostic Criteria
- At least 3 periodic attacks
- Aura characertistics (At least 3 )
- One or more fully reversible aura symptoms indicating focal cerebral cortical or brain-stem dysfunction
- At least 1 aura symptom develops gradually over >4 minutes or 2 or more symptoms occur in succession
- No single aura symptom lasts > 60 minutes
- Headache begins within 60 minutes of aura onset
- History, physical, and diagnostic tests do not suggest underlying organic disease
Cluster headache
International Headache Society Diagnostic Criteria
- Duration
15 to 180 minutes untreated
- Pain characteristics
Severe unilateral orbital, supraorbital, or temporal pain
- Associated symptoms (at least 1, ipsilateral to pain)
- Conjunctival injection, Lacrimation
- Nasal congestion, Rhinorrhea , Forehead and facial swelling
- Miosis, Ptosis
- Eyelid Edema
- Frequency
between 1 every other day to 8/day
Secondary headache
- Intracranial hemorrhage
- Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
- Intracerebral hemorrhage
- Subdural/epidural hematoma
- Meningitis/encephalitis
- Hypertensive encephalopathy
- Ischemic stroke
- Venous sinus thrombosis
- Hypoxia, hypercarbia, carbon monoxide
Physical Exam
• Vital signs
fever, hypertension, hypoxia
• Head/face
trauma, bruits, tenderness
• Eyes
conjunctiva, cornea, pupils, fundi:papilledema
• Ears
OM or hemotympanum
• Mouth
Teeth, TMJ
• Neck
pain/stiffness/tenderness
Carotid and/or vertebral bruits
• Skin
rash
• Neurologic
Mental status
Pupils, EOM, Visual field
Focal deficits
Horner's syndrome
Ataxia
Diagnostic Alarms
• Onset after age 50
• Sudden onset
- Increased frequency and severity
- New onset with risk factors for HIV or cancer
- Associated with systemic illness (HT,DM,fever, meningismus, rash)
- Altered consciousness or focal neurologic deficits
- Papilledema
- Significant trauma
Prophylaxis Treatment of Primary Headache
- Tension
Reassurance
Antidepressant &/or Anxiolytic drugs (Tricyclic antidepressant or/& SSRI)
- Migraine
Betablockers: Proponolol
Ca channel blocker: Verapamile
Antidepressant: (Tricyclic antidepressant or/& SSRI)
Anticonvulsant: Na valproate, topiramate,
Methysergid.
Pizotifine.
- Cluster
Steroid
Lithium carbonate
Verapamile
Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Approximately 50% of have "sentinal bleed"
• 50% with "sentinal bleed" will rebleed within 2-6 wks
• Rebleed
- 50% mortality
- > 50% of survivors have significant neurologic deficits
• Head CT negative in 1-10% of cases
Sensitivity decreases with time from onset of sx
• LP if head CT negative (RBC’s 3 hrs, xanthochromia 12 hrs)
• Angiography if positive CT or LP
Temporal arteritis
• Rare before age 50
• Temporal artery tenderness, swelling, redness, nodularity
• Visual disturbance
Visual loss in 7-60% if untreated
• Jaw claudication
• Systemic symptoms
fever, wt loss, anorexia, malaise
• Polymyalgia rheumatica (prox muscle pain/tend./stiffness)
• ESR usually > 50 (mm/hr)
• Temporal artery biopsy
multi nucleated giant cells / inflammation
• Therapy: High dose steroids
ED treatment of primary headache
- Tension
Oral Analgesics (NSAIDS, Acetaminophen)
- Migraine
Serotonin agonists (Sumitriptan 50 mg PO or 6.0 mg SQ)
Narcotics IV or IM
- Cluster
100% oxygen I Intranasal lidocaine ?
NSAIDS
Migraine specific therapies
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