Headache and Facial Pain

Abstract

Headaches are a near-universal experience, with a 1-year prevalence of 90% and a lifetime prevalence of 99%. Headaches and pain to the head account for roughly 3% of visits to US emergency departments annually, making them the fourth most common reason for seeking emergency care. There are numerous types of headaches, and although the majority are benign, types exist that may result from serious and potentially life-threatening causes. As such, it is important for the physician to consider a broad differential diagnosis for every headache patient. This review discusses the classification of headaches, identifies pain-sensitive structures in the head, discusses the history and examination in patients with headache, and describes many of the primary and secondary headaches. Figures show the areas of the brain sensitive to pain; 1-year prevalence of migraine in men, women, and children; frequency of attacks in migraineurs; prevalence of headaches by age group and in patients with cerebrovascular disorders; and symptoms of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Tables list the major categories of headache disorders, key elements of the headache history, helpful questions to ask, features of selected primary and secondary headaches, reasons to consider neuroimaging, efficacy of selected over-the-counter medications, triptans available in the United States, medication options for urgent or emergency treatment of migraine, selected preventive medications for migraine, generally accepted indications for preventive treatment, general principles for the use of preventive medications, titration schedules for preventive medication, interval or short-term preventive treatment of menstrual migraine, strategies for managing increase in migraines in patients starting estrogen replacement therapy, transition medications for rapid, temporary suppression of headaches, medications possibly effective for cluster and hypnic headaches, differential diagnosis of the acute, severe, new-onset headache, and etiologies of papilledema and headache. This review contains 6 highly rendered figures, 23 tables, and 115 references.