Abstract
SUMMARY The frequency of headache occurring in the postoperative period following three common anaesthetic techniques is described. The incidence following anaesthesia with halothane and controlled ventilation was found to be significantly higher than in a similar group in which halothane was not used. The two groups were otherwise comparable in all respects. A third technique employing halothane and spontaneous respiration showed a still higher incidence of headache when compared with the halothane and controlled ventilation method, but this difference was not statistically significant. In ten patients (20 per cent of those receiving halothane) headache was the main postoperative complaint. The possible relationships between the headaches after halothane and the effect of this drug on the cerebral vasculature and cerebrospinal fluid pressure are discussed. Headache is usually considered a minor sequel of anaesthesia (Edmonds-Seal and Eve, 1962; Thomas, 1963) other than when occurring after deliberate or inadvertent subarachnoid tap. However, headache assumes greater importance in the immediate postoperative period in an out-patient or in early ambulant patients after relatively minor procedures. This study was designed to investigate the influence of halothane on the incidence of postoperative headache. MATERIAL AND METHODS
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