Diagnosis and treatment of headache in primary practice: a brief review

Article information

J Korean Med Assoc. 2010;53(9):807-814
Publication date (electronic) : 2010 September 07
doi : https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2010.53.9.807
Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea. brain930@ewha.ac.kr
Received 2010 July 07; Accepted 2010 July 20.

Abstract

Headache is a common symptom, often associated with disability, but rarely life threatening. However, even disabling migraine is under-diagnosed and under-treated. There are no diagnostic tests for migraine or tension-type headaches, and the history is all-important. A headache history requires time to elicit and a simple and helpful stratagem when the patient first presents in a clinic is to request the keeping of a diary over a few weeks. The pattern of attacks is a very helpful indicator of the right diagnosis. It must be ascertained first that a condition requiring more urgent intervention is not present. In this brief review, the crucial elements of a headache history are presented in detail, and key principles of treatment are described.

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