Headaches in children

Abstract

together the anamnestic data and findings of children hospitalized at the Neuropaediatric Unit with headache as the primary diagnosis – to associate the duration, clinical features and causes of headaches and classify them according to the criteria of The International Classification of Headache Disorders Second Edition. Methods: The retrospective analysis of clinical data in 377 children followed up from January 1st 2003 until December 31st 2007. Results: The analysis includes data from 221(58.6%) girls and 156 (41.4%) boys. Mean age was 11 years (y) and 8 months (m) (2y8m – 22y). Headache with duration ≤3m was found in 137 (36.3%), >3m in 220 (58.4%) children. In 20 (5.3%) children the data was unknown. Acute headache was present in 144 (38.2%), recurrent headache in 215 (57.0%) children. In all children the haematological- biochemical-microbiological findings were made, together with neurological, ophthalmologic and ORL evaluation. Based on anamnestic data and findings we classified headaches as follows: tension-type (36.1%), possible tension-type (5.6%), associated with structural changes of the organs in the head (20.7%), migraine (16.7%), post-traumatic (3.2%), intracranial non-vascular (neoplasms, dysfunction of Pudenz drainage system) (1.8%) and vascular (CVI) (0,3%). Frequency of headaches associated with infection (systemic infection, after meningitis) was 0.8%, headache 0.5% was due to hypertension, while other causes were noted in 14.3% (non-classified, sideropenic anaemia, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, menstruation).
Conclusion: The most frequent type of headache was tension-type headache. In order to evaluate the etiological diagnosis of headaches which demand specific therapy, we recommend detailed clinical evaluation in children with duration of headaches of more than 3 months.