The adult patient with headache

Headaches are common in primary care. For safe assessment and management of the patient with headache, a focused history and physical examination are important to identify secondary headache, and find out whether an immediate referral to the emergency department or a non-emergent referral to the neurologist is warranted. The majority of patients with primary headache may be safely managed in the outpatient setting. Key steps include proper categorisation of the primary headache, attention to lifestyle and psychosocial factors, prescription of analgesics for acute pain relief, and the use of preventive medication when indicated. The patient with a cluster headache, a headache of uncertain diagnosis and/or poor response to preventive strategies or a migraine with persistent aura, or a headache with associated motor weakness, should be referred to a neurologist. Secondary headache and the diagnosis of medication overuse headache should be considered in a patient on long-term analgesics with unremitting headache.

Treatment of status migrainosus by general anesthesia: a case report / Tratamento do estado de mal-enxaquecoso pela anestesia geral: relato de caso

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The status migrainosus is a complication of migraine characterized by severe headache for more than 72 h that did not respond to treatment, with risk of stroke and suicide. Researches on treatment are directed to drugs that stimulate GABA receptors; propofol and isoflurane act on sub-GABAa receptors and theoretically could be interesting. The first has been the subject of research in severe migraine. Opioids are employed in pain, and its use in chronic headache is debatable, but these agents are employed in acute cases. The goal is to present a case of refractory status migrainosus in that we decided to break the pain cycle by general anesthesia.CASE REPORT: Female patient, aged 50 years, with status migrainosus, in the last five days with visits to the emergency department, medicated parenterally with various agents without result. Without comorbidities, dehydrated, described her pain as "well over 10" in Visual Numeric Scale (VNS). After consulting the literature, and given the apparent severity of the condition, we opted for a general anesthesia: induction with fentanyl, propofol, and vecuronium and maintenance with isoflurane and propofol for two hours. Following the treatment, in the postanesthetic recuperation (PAR), the patient related her pain as VNS 3, and was released after five hours with VNS 2. Subsequently, her preventive treatment was resumed.CONCLUSION: Status migrainosus is a rare disabling complication and anesthetics have been the subject of research in its treatment; the option for general anesthesia with agents that stimulate GABA receptors, propofol and isoflurane, in association with fentanyl, proved effective and should encourage new research.

RESUMOJUSTIFICATIVA E OBJETIVOS: O estado de mal-enxaquecoso é complicação da migrânea caracterizada por cefaleia severa por mais de 72 horas não responsiva à terapêutica com risco de AVC e suicídio. Pesquisas no tratamento se direcionam às drogas que estimulam receptores GABA; propofol e isoflurano atuam nos sub-receptores GABAa e teoricamente poderiam ser interessantes. O primeiro já foi objeto de pesquisas na migrânea severa. Opioides são empregados em dor, seu uso crônico nas cefaleias é discutível, mas são empregados nos casos agudos. O objetivo é apresentar caso de estado de mal-enxaquecoso refratário em que se optou para quebrar o ciclo álgico por uma anestesia geral.RELATO DE CASO: Paciente do sexo feminino com 50 anos em estado de mal-enxaquecoso havia cinco dias com passagens anteriores por serviço de urgências, medicada por via parenteral com vários agentes sem resultado. Sem comorbidades, desidratada, descrevia sua dor como "muito superior a 10" na ENV. Após consulta à literatura, face à gravidade aparente do quadro, optou-se pela feitura de uma anestesia geral; a indução foi com fentanil, propofol, vecurônio e manutenção com isoflurano e propofol por duas horas. No fim, na RPA, no primeiro contato classificou sua dor com ENV 3, teve alta após cinco horas com ENV 2. Ulteriormente retomou seu tratamento preventivo.CONCLUSÃO: O mal-enxaquecoso é uma complicação rara incapacitante e anestésicos têm sido objeto de pesquisas no tratamento; a opção por uma anestesia geral com agentes que estimulam os receptores GABA, propofol e isoflurano, aliados ao fentanil, mostrou-se eficaz e deve incentivar pesquisas.

The relationship between primary headache and constipation in children and adolescents / 소아과

PURPOSE: Many patients presenting with headache also complain of constipation; the relationship between these two symptoms has not been explored in detail. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between primary headache and constipation. METHODS: This retrospective study included all children who attended the Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital complaining of headache, and who had been followed up for at least 100 days. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group A, in whom the headache improved after treatment for constipation, and group B, in whom headache was not associated with constipation. RESULTS: Of the 96 patients with primary headache, 24 (25.0%) also had constipation (group A). All 24 received treatment for constipation. Follow-up revealed an improvement in both headache and constipation in all patients. Group B contained the remaining 72 children. Comparison of groups A and B indicated a significant difference in sex ratio (P=0.009, chi-square test). Patients with probable tension-type headache were more likely to be in Group A (P=0.006, chi-square test). CONCLUSION: Resolution of constipation improves headache in many patients diagnosed with primary headache, especially those with probable tension-type headache. We suggest that either constipation plays a key role in triggering headache, or that both constipation and headache share a common pathophysiology.

Migraña: una visión global hacia el enfoque terapéutico en el servicio de urgencias / Migraine: an overview to the therapeutic approach in the emergency room

El manejo agudo de la migraña es un proceso desafiante en el servicio de Urgencias. Su tratamiento debe estar basado en la severidad de los síntomas que definen una aproximación farmacológica estratificada. En casos moderados a severos, los agentes de elección son los triptanes, agentes antimigrañosos específicos que proveen rápida mejoría del dolor y disminución de la discapacidad. Dicho tratamiento debe iniciarse en las etapas iniciales del dolor y antes de la instauración del fenómeno de alodinia cutánea para garantizar una respuesta óptima para dicho tratamiento.

Acute management of migraine is a challenging process in the emergency medical service. Its treatment should be based on symptom severity in order to define a stratified approach. In cases with moderate to severe symptoms the agents of choice are the triptans, specific antimigraine agents that provide swift relief of pain and improvement in the overall discapacity. Such treatment should be initiated in the early stages of pain and before the instauration of the cutaneous allodinia phenomenon in order to secure an optimal response to such treatment.