Cluster headache
Background
- Occur most often in middle aged men
- Classically occur in "clusters" over days to weeks typically at the same time of day and same anatomical location.
Definition
- At least 5 attacks of headache fulfilling the following criteria:
- Severe unilateral orbital, supraorbital, or temporal pain lasting 15–180 min if untreated
- Headache accompanied by at least one of the following:
- Ipsilateral conjunctival injection and/or lacrimation
- Ipsilateral nasal congestion and/or rhinorrhea
- Ipsilateral eyelid edema
- Ipsilateral forehead and facial sweating
- Ipsilateral miosis and/or ptosis
- A sense of restlessness or agitation
- Attacks have a frequency from one every other day to eight per day
- Not attributed to another disorder
Diagnosis
- Based on H&P with ruled out other causes
Work-Up
- Neurological Exam
- CT when indicated to rule out other causes (mass, bleed, etc)
Differential Diagnosis
Headache
Common
Killers
- Meningitis/encephalitis
- Myocardial ischemia
- Retropharyngeal abscess
- Intracranial Hemorrhage (ICH)
- SAH / sentinel bleed
- Acute obstructive hydrocephalus
- Space occupying lesions
- CVA
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Basilar artery dissection
- Preeclampsia
- Cerebral venous thrombosis
- Hypertensive emergency
- Depression
Maimers
- Giant cell arteritis of temporal artery (temporal arteritis)
- Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (Pseudotumor Cerebri)
- Acute Glaucoma
- Acute sinusitis
- Cavernous sinus thrombosis or cerebral sinus thrombosis
- Carotid artery dissection
Others
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- TMJ pain
- Post-lumbar puncture headache
- Dehydration
- Analgesia abuse
- Various ocular and dental problems
- Herpes zoster ophthalmicus
- Herpes zoster oticus
- Cryptococcosis
- Febrile headache (e.g. pyelonephritis, nonspecific viral infection)
- Ophthalmoplegic migraine
- Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
Aseptic Meningitis
- Viral
- Tuberculosis
- Lyme disease
- Syphilis
- Leptospirosis
- Fungal (AIDS, transplant, chemotherapy, chronic steroid use)
- Noninfectious
==Treatment==[1]
- High-flow O2 (effective in 70% of pts)
- DHE
- Sumatriptan
Disposition
- Normally outpatient
See Also
Source
- Tintinalli
- International Headache Society Diagnostic Criteria
<reference/>
- ↑ Headache. 2013 Jul-Aug;53(7):1191-6. doi: 10.1111/head.12145. Epub 2013 Jun 14. Cluster headache: conventional pharmacological management. Becker WJ1.