Chapter 42 Orofacial Pain Flashcards
KEY POINTS 1. Diagnosis guides management; an algorithmic approach is necessary to treat patients with headache and facial pain. Accurate diagnosis requires knowledge of the ICHD-2 criteria, and stepwise elimination of primary and secondary headaches. 2. Red flags in the history and physical examination require further investigation. 3. Treatment centers on preventive and abortive strategies. The appropriate timing for interventional treatment needs to be measured against the severity of th
The ICHD-2 criteria provide a systematic classification for headache and orofacial pain and are divided into three
parts:
the primary headaches, the secondary headaches,
and cranial neuralgias central and primary facial pain
before considering the
diagnoses that are commonly attributed to orofacial pain
it is relevant to provide a brief comment on eliciting the
key components of the history and physical examination in
the evaluation of headache and orofacial pain. It is important to take a stepwise, systematic approach to the patients pain.
An appropriate physical examination includes
a thorough neurologic assessment (including gait, pronator drift, Romberg’s sign, and reflex testing, that is, Hoffman and Babinski signs), heart and carotid auscultation, fundoscopic examination, cervical range of motion (ROM including atlantoaxial and atlantoocciptial joint), a musculoskeletal evaluation with careful detail to myofascial tenderness and trigger points, maneuvers that provoke radicular signs (Spurling’s test), cervical facet examination, and Waddell’s signs of nonorganic pain (tenderness to palpation, stimulation, distraction, regional disturbance in function, and overreaction).
The Primary Headaches
- Migraine
- Tension-type headache
- Cluster headache and other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias
- Other primary headaches
The Secondary Headaches
- Headache attributed to head and/or neck trauma
- Headache attributed to cranial or cervical vascular disorder
- Headache attributed to nonvascular intracranial disorder
- Headache attributed to a substance or its withdrawal
- Headache attributed to infection
- Headache attributed to disorder of homoeostasis
- Headache or facial pain attributed to disorder of cranium, neck, eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, teeth, mouth, or other facial or cranial structures
- Headache attributed to psychiatric disorder
Cranial Neuralgias Central and Primary Facial Pain and Other Headaches
- Cranial neuralgias and central causes of facial pain
14. Other headache, cranial neuralgia, central or primary facial pain
Headache with “Red Flag” Symptoms and Signs That Require Further Work-up
Sudden onset of headache (thunderclap headache)
Fever, rash, and/or stiff neck (meningismus) associated with the headache
Papilledema (optic nerve head swelling)
Dizziness, unsteadiness, dysarthria, weakness, or changes in sensation (numbness or tingling) especially if profound, static, and occurring
for the first time
Headache with “Red Flag” Symptoms and Signs That Require Further Work-up
Migraine auras or other previously experienced neurologic migraine accompaniments lasting longer than 1 hr
Presence of confusion, drowsiness, or loss of consciousness
Headache is triggered by exertion, coughing, bending, or sexual activity
Headache is progressively worsening and/or resistant to treatment
Previously experienced headache characteristics or accompaniments have substantially changed
Persistent or severe vomiting accompanies the headache
Headache with “Red Flag” Symptoms and Signs That Require Further Work-up
Headaches beginning after age of 50 are associated with a higher risk of arteritis or intracranial tumors. Inquire about unexplained weight loss,
sweats, fevers, myalgia, arthralgia, and jaw claudication, which are typical accompaniments of giant cell (temporal) arteritis
Headache occurring in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus or cancer
Frequent emergency department or acute care use
Daily or near-daily use of pain relievers or the need to take more than the recommended dosage of pain relievers to control headache symptoms
Indications for Neuroimaging in Headaches- Urgent
Thunderclap headache with neurologic deficit Headache with altered mental status or seizure Prior intervention (if reduced intracranial compliance focal defects suspected, meningismus)
Indications for Neuroimaging in Headaches- Routine
Thunderclap headache without focal neurologic deficit
Change in headache characteristics (severity, side shift, worsening)
Headache accompanied by neurologic deficit or abnormality (disequilibrium, pronator drift, weakness, papilledema)
Headache in immunocompromised patients, cancer patients
The trigeminal system provides
the relay system for pain
and touch sensation to the face, as well as motor function
to the muscles of mastication. The trigeminal system is a
bilateral structure that spans from the midbrain to the
medulla and is composed of four nuclei: the mesencephalic
nucleus, the main sensory nucleus, a spinal nucleus of V,
and the motor nucleus.
The caudal portion of the trigeminal system nucleus is referred to as the spinal nucleus of V and is composed of three regions
in cephalad to caudal
order, the subnucleus oralis, the subnucleus interplaris,
and the subnucleus caudalis.
The subnucleus caudalis
very similar in structure and function to the dorsal horn and extends down to the second or third cervical level.
In the trigeminal system the primary afferent synapses
ipsilaterally in the nucleus caudalis and then the second-order neuron crosses
to join the contralateral spinothalamic tract.
The trigeminal pathway is termed the
ventral trigeminothalamic
tract and terminates in the ventral posteromedial (VPM)
nucleus of the thalamus.
Activation of nuclei in close proximity to the trigeminocervical complex may explain
the associated aura and symptoms attributed to different headache disorders by either activation of wide dynamic neurons, ephaptic transmission, or by sheer close proximity to the complex (solitary nucleus, nucleus ambiguous, or dorsal nucleus of vagus nerve).
HEADACHE ATTRIBUTED TO
DISORDER OF CRANIAL BONE
The diagnostic criteria include
pain in one or more
regions in the head and face with clinical, laboratory, or imaging evidence of a lesion within the cranial bone
known to be valid evidence of generating headache
HEADACHE ATTRIBUTED TO
DISORDER OF CRANIAL BONE
The source of the pain must be
in close temporal association to and is maximal over the bone lesion, and
with resolution of the pain after successful treatment of the bone lesion.
HEADACHE ATTRIBUTED TO
DISORDER OF NECK
These constellations of disorders involve
pain referral from neck structures to the head/and or face.
Cervicogenic headache
pain attributed to a disorder or
lesion within the cervical spine or soft tissues that is generally accepted to cause headache or facial pain.
Retropharyngeal tendonitis (also called longus colli tendonitis
described as either unilateral or bilateral nonpulsatile
pain in the posterior neck radiating to the occiput
or entire head accompanied by swollen prevertebral soft
tissue measuring more than 7 mm in adults anterior to
the upper cervical vertebral bodies.
Retropharyngeal tendonitispain is exacerbated by
neck extension, and less commonly with neck
rotation and swallowing. The transverse process of the
upper three vertebral bodies is tender to palpation.
Retropharyngeal tendonitis treatment
pain is alleviated within 2 weeks of treatment with antiinflammatory medications.