Headache Diagnosis in Children and Adolescents

Vijay A Patel; Jeffrey Liaw; Robert A Saadi; Huseyin Isildak; Christopher L Kalmar; Sean P Polster

doi:10.1016/j.otc.2022.02.007

Headache Diagnosis in Children and Adolescents

Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2022 Jun;55(3):633-647. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2022.02.007. Epub 2022 Apr 27.

Authors

Vijay A Patel¹, Jeffrey Liaw², Robert A Saadi³, Huseyin Isildak⁴, Christopher L Kalmar⁵, Sean P Polster⁶

Affiliations

¹ Division of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Boulevard MS #58, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA.
³ Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, University of Arkansas, 2801 S University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Stony Brook University, 101 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
⁵ Department of Plastic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1161 Medical Center Drive, Nashville, TN 37212, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.

PMID: 35490042
DOI: 10.1016/j.otc.2022.02.007

Abstract

Pediatric headache is a common medical complaint managed across multiple subspecialties with a myriad of unique factors (clinical presentation and disease phenotype) that make accurate diagnosis particularly elusive. A thorough understanding of the stepwise approach to headache disorders in children is essential to ensure appropriate evaluation, timely diagnosis, and efficacious treatment. This work aims to review key components of a comprehensive headache assessment as well as discuss primary and secondary headache disorders observed in children, with a particular focus on clinical pearls and "red flag" symptoms necessitating ancillary diagnostic testing.

Keywords: Headache; Migraines; Pediatric; Primary headache; Rhinogenic headache; Secondary headache.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Diagnosis, Differential
Headache* / diagnosis
Headache* / etiology
Humans