Secondary Headache Disorders: Approach, Workup, and Special Considerations for Select Populations.

TitleSecondary Headache Disorders: Approach, Workup, and Special Considerations for Select Populations.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2022
AuthorsFriedman SA, Masters-Israilov A, Robbins MS
JournalSemin Neurol
Date Published2022 Oct 11
ISSN1098-9021
Abstract

Headache is one of the most common diagnoses in neurology. A thorough understanding of the clinical presentation of secondary headache, which can be life-threatening, is critical. This review provides an overview of the diagnostic approach to a patient with headache, including discussion of "red," "orange," and "green" flags. We emphasize particular scenarios to help tailor the clinical workup to individual circumstances such as in pregnant women, when particular attention must be paid to the effects of blood pressure and hypercoagulability, as well as in older adults, where there is a need for higher suspicion for an intracranial mass lesion or giant cell arteritis. Patients with risk factors for headache secondary to alterations in intracranial pressure, whether elevated (e.g., idiopathic intracranial hypertension) or decreased (e.g., cerebrospinal fluid leak), may require more specific diagnostic testing and treatment. Finally, headache in patients with COVID-19 or long COVID-19 is increasingly recognized and may have multiple etiologies.

DOI10.1055/s-0042-1757753
Alternate JournalSemin Neurol
PubMed ID36220127

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