Original Research Article
Year: 2019 | Month: October | Volume: 6 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 337-342
Prevalence, Clinical Presentation and Aetiology of Secondary Headache from a Tertiary Care Centre in Western Tamil Nadu
Saleem Akhtar1, Ramakrishnan TCR1, Mugundhan Krishnan2, Rajesh Shankar Iyer3
1Department of Neurology, KG Hospital & Post Graduate Medical Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
2Department of Neurology, Government Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
3Department of Neurology, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Corresponding Author: Rajesh Shankar Iyer
ABSTRACT
Background: Very little information is available about the incidence and varieties of secondary headache in India. We looked into the incidence and types of secondary headache among those who present with acute severe headache in a tertiary hospital in Western Tamilnadu.
Methods: We included all patients who presented in the neurology department between January 2017 and January 2019 with acute severe headache. We followed a clinical evaluation protocol, at the end of which all primary headaches were excluded and the various types of secondary headaches were included in the study.
Results: There were 650 patients who presented with acute severe headache during the study period, out of which 150 were found to be due to secondary causes (23%). The clinical pattern was one of thunderclap headache, headache with fever, headache with focal neurological deficit or new daily persistent headache. New daily persistent headache was the commonest clinical presentation (48%) and cerebral venous thrombosis (22.6%) the commonest etiology. The other frequent causes of secondary headache were subarachnoid hemorrhage (17.3%), meningitis (17.3%) and rhinosinusitis(10.7%).
Conclusion: Secondary headache constituted 23% of our patients presenting with acute severe headache. New daily persistent headache was the commonest clinical pattern of secondary headache and cerebral venous thrombosis the commonest cause.
Key words: secondary headache, thunderclap headache, new daily persistent headache, rhinosinusitis, cerebral venous thrombosis, sub-arachnoid hemorrhage
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