HA and facial pain Flashcards
1
Q
Common headaches
A
- tension
- migraine
- chronic daily headache (rebound)
2
Q
Scary headaches
A
- increased intracranial pressure “worst HA of my life” (bleeds)
- progressive HA (tumors)
- temporal arteritis (systemic vascular inflammation - eyesight problems)
3
Q
HA
A
- all about the history
- really no exam finding
- tension (women >male)
- migraine (women > male) -strong familial component
- most important question: are you taking something for the HA and how often
4
Q
Location / Quality
A
- unilateral, bilateral, frontal, occidental, temporal, eye/sinuses
- dull, sharp, lancinating, steady, throbbing, single location, radiation?
5
Q
Timing/Pattern
A
- timing really matters
- usual vs. new
- pattern: varying during day, related to work stress, menses, clusters
6
Q
Aggravating factors
A
- stress
- photo / phono phobia
- menses
- caffeine
- foods
- positional
7
Q
Alleviating factors
A
- sleep
- medication
- excercise
8
Q
H & P
A
- looking for causes that need immediate tx
- vascular: hemorrhage, clot, vasculitis, aneurysm, HTN
- infection
- intracranial masses
- preeclampsia
- carbon monoxide poisoning (main sx is HA)
- if they have thunderclap HA, HIV, or elderly need to get imaging even if physical is normal
9
Q
Red flags
A
- progressive HA
- “worse HA of my life”
- change in intensity, frequency, other characteristics, “familiar” HA
- new severe HA in adult
- meningeal signs
- jaw claudication (reduction of arterial blood flow)
- HA that disturbes sleep
- cough induced HA
- HA q/ focal neurologic
- post lumber puncture HA
10
Q
Whom to scan emergently
A
- first and worst HA
- abnormal neurological exam
- abnormal mental status
- abnormal funuscopic exam (papilledema)
- meningeal signs
- new headache over age 50
- HIV positive
11
Q
PE
A
- temp: think meningitis
- Kernig’s: flex hip, extend knees and pain (meningitis)
- Brudzinski’s: flex neck, hand on chest, knee and hip flexion is positive sign (meningitis)
- HTN: malignant HTN, preeclampsia, pheochromocytoma
- scalp tender might be temporal arteritis
- usually nonspecific exam
- search for neurologic signs
- neck muscle tenderness, spasm, relief of HA w/ pericranial muscle massage (prob tension)
- palpate temporal arteries for tenderness
- TMJ exam
- sinuses
- teeth/gum
12
Q
Vascular HA
A
- migraine, cluster, inflammatory, HTN
- pulsatile/throbbing
- pain related to vasodilation
- caffeine withdrawal
- Viagra HA
- neurokinin: pro-inflammatory relative of bradykinin
13
Q
Migraine
A
- periodic, debilitating HA associated with n/v
- migraneurs have hypersensitivity often to multiple stimuli and in multiple systems
- multiple drug sensitivities common
- current: theory: brain is involved, but pain is still partly vascular (vasoconstriction followed by vasodilation)
- Trigeminal hypersensitivity innervation of cranial vessels and dura with inflammatory changes in peripheral targets
- recurrent migraines will always be in the same location and feel the same
- complicated migraines look just like a TIA
14
Q
Migraine w/o aura
A
- headache for 4-72 hours
- has 2/4: unilateral pain, throbbing pulsatile quality, moderate to severe in intensity, aggravation by routine activity
- and 1 of: nausea and/or vomiting, photophobia and/or phonophobia
- include 5 previous attacks and no underlying disease
15
Q
Caffeine withdrawal
A
- causes vasoconstriction
- get vasodilation when stopped causing rebound HA
16
Q
Calcium channelopathy
A
- rare
- genetic alterations in Ca channels and hypersensitivity to stimuli
- probably genetic
- triggers may be involved (nitrates, chocolate, menses)
17
Q
Clinical signs and sx of migraines
A
- Classic: with aura 20%
- Common: w/o aura 80%
- pain: usually lateralized (but can be bilateral), usually throbbing, builds up slowly and lasts several hours or longer