Headaches in children: 5-year retrospective hospital-based study

Abstract

The aim is to describe our former experience in clinical evaluation and usage of diagnostic criteria according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition, in children with headache. Clinical documentation of patients hospitalized at Department of Neuropediatrics, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital in Zagreb from January 1, 2003 until December 31, 2007 was retrospectively analyzed. The study included 377 children: 58.6% girls and 41.4% boys, mean age 11 years and 8 months; 89.7% of patients were hospitalized for the first time due to headache. First-ever headache was present in 40.1% and recurrent in 59.9% of patients. Headache occurring for more than 3 months was present in 61.6% of patients. Headaches were classified on the basis of history, physical findings, neurologic status and diagnostic results, as follows: tension-type 36.1%, probable tension-type 5.6%, associated with pathologic changes of extracerebral cranial structures 20.7%, migraines 16.7%, post-traumatic 3.2%, intracranial non-vascular 1.8% and vascular 0.3%, associated with infection 0.8% or disorders of homeostasis 0.5%, and other causes 14.3%. In conclusion, tension-type headache was most common. In order to evaluate the etiological factors that require specific therapy, we recommend detailed clinical evaluation of children with headache duration for more than 3 months.