Headache Flashcards
Causes of dull headache
Overuse of medication (e.g. codeine)
Contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy
Causes acute single headache
Thunderclap (sudden onset), low pressure
Febrile illness, sinusitis head injury Subarachnoid haemorrhage Meningitis, drugs, toxins, stroke
What headache patterns are these? Cluster Migraine Episodic tension headache Trigeminal / post herpetic neuralgia
Recurrent
Triggered headache
Coughing, straining, exertion
Coitus
Food and drink
Red flags
onset?
presence of systemic symptoms?
what neuro symptoms?
better standing or lying down?
Onset : Thunderclap, acute, subacute
Meningism : Photophobia, phonophobia, stiff neck, vomiting
Systemic symptoms : Fever, rash, weight loss
neurological symptoms / focal signs : Visual loss, confusion, seizures, hemiparesis, double vision, 3rd nerve palsy, Horner syndrome, papilloedema,
Orthostatic-better lying down
Strictly unilateral
Horner syndrome?
decreased pupil size, a drooping eyelid and decreased sweating on the affected side of your face
inhibition of sympathetic nerve supply
3rd Nerve Palsy
CN III impacted so actions of CN IV/ VI
completely closed eyelid and deviation of the eye outward and downward
the eye cannot move inward or up, and the pupil is typically enlarged and does not react normally to light
Papilloedema
Papilledema or papilloedema is optic disc swelling that is caused by increased intracranial pressure due to any cause. The swelling is usually bilateral
Signs headache is due to Subarachnoid haemorrhage
- blow to the head
- stiff neck photophobia
- ruptured aneurysm , arteriovenous
Subarachnoid Haemorrhage headache : Course of action
what drug? what needs monitoring
- Vasospasm : stop leak
- Nimodipine : calcium channel blocker used in preventing vasospasm secondary to subarachnoid hemorrhage
- BP control needed
Markers of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage ?
- CT brain
- Lumbar Puncture : will show xanthochromia
- MRA, Angiogram
what is xanthochromia ?
yellowish appearance of cerebrospinal fluid that occurs several hours after bleeding into the subarachnoid space
- sign of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage
How is an unruptured aneurysm dealt with ?
- Clipped
- Wrapped
- Platinum coils
Optic disc swelling
- due to raised intracranial pressure
Temporal Arteritis
characteristics
<55
3x more in women
Constant unilateral headache
Scalp tenderness and jaw claudication + present w polymyalgia rheumatica
Elevated ESR, CRP
Inflamed and tortuous
Biopsy inflammation and giant cells : disruption of internal elastic lamina
Polymyalgia Rheumatica
Proximal muscle tenderness
Temporal Arteritis
can cause blindness why?
inflamed temporal artery can get posterior ciliary arteries are involved
ESR and CRP what do they show?
signs of inflammation
Unusual amount of headache due to raised ICP
- Cerebral Venous Thrombosis
Why does Cerebral Venous Thrombosis occur?
Non-territorial ischaemia “venous infarcts”
Haemorrhage
Thrombophilia, pregnancy, dehydration,
- Behcets :blood vessel inflammation throughout your body
Cause of Headache
Viral- Coxsackie, ECHO, Mumps, EBV
Bacterial - Meningococci, Pneumococci, Haemophilus
Tuberculous
Fungal - Cryptococci
Granulomatous- Sarcoid, Lyme, Brucella, Behçet’s, Syphilis
Carcinomatous
Meningitis
Presenting symptoms
Malaise Headache Fever Neck stiffness Photophobia Confusion Alteration of consciousness
Herpes Simplex Encephalitis
Classic haemorrhagic changes in the temporal lobes
Meningitis
Treat then diagnose
Antibiotics Blood and urine culture Lumbar puncture Increased White Cell Count, decreased glucose Antigens Cytology Bacterial Culture CT or MRI Scan