Headaches - lectures and tutorial Flashcards
sinusitis, first attack of migraine, following a head injury, subarachnoid haemorrhage, meningitis, tumour, drugs, toxins, stroke can all cause what type of headache?
acute single headache
overuse of medication, contraceptive pill, hormone replacement therapy, neck disease, temporal arteritis, benign intracranial hypertension, cerebral tumour, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis can all cause which type of headache?
dull headache, increasing in severity
which are the most common patterns of headache?
dull headache, unchanged over months, recurrent headaches
Give two examples of dull headaches
chronic tension headache
depressive, atypical facial pain
Give three examples triggers for headache?
coughing, straining, exertion
coitus
food and drink
give four examples of recurrent headaches
migraine,cluster, episodic tension headache, trigeminal or post herpetic neuralgia
Name the 6 red flags for headache
- onset
- meningism
- systemic symptoms
- neurological symptoms or focal signs
- orthostatic - better lying down
- strictly unilateral
what would be the worry of an acute onset headache?
thunderclap/ acute - could be a symptom of something serious
give 4 symptoms of meningism
photophobia, phonophobia (sound), stiff neck, vomiting
visual loss, confusion, seizures, hemiparesis, double vision, 3rd nerve palsy, Horner syndrome and papillodema are all what kind of red flag?
neurological symptoms or focal signs
what causes double vision?
Any of the 3rd, 4th and 6th cranial nerves not working
what causes 3rd nerve (oculomotor) palsy?
posterior communicating artery aneurysm
what are the signs of 3rd nerve (oculomotor) palsy?
A complete third nerve palsy causes a 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.
What happens in Horner Syndrome? What causes it?
pupil size bigger, eye held open
sympathetic supply to eye is altered
what other symptoms can a subarachnoid haemorrhage cause?
meningism - stiff neck and photophobia
What are subarachnoid haemorrhages caused by?
ruptured aneurysm
What percentage of subarachnoid haemorrhages are fatal?
50%
how do you confirm a subarachnoid haemorrhage?
CT of the brain, lumbar puncture (spinal fluid contains blood), MRA, angiogram
how do you treat an aneurysm?
fill with platinum coil –> causes blood vessel to seal up
is an acute intracerebral bleed fatal?
yes, due to coning
what is coning?
the brain can only handle an increased volume/ pressure up to a certain point. After this, there is herniation due to the brain squeezing out of the skull at certain points. This squashes the brainstem, shutting down cardiorespiratory centres and is fatal.
papilloedema is what?
optic disc swelling at the back of the eye due to raised intracranial pressure
headache in the front of the head and temples could be affected by a problem with which arteries?
carotid
headache from the middle of the head towards the back of the head and neck could be caused by a problem with which artery?
vertebral
what can cause carotid and vertebral artery dissection?
trauma, or a spontaneous dissection with a collagen type that predisposes them
what could happen if you have carotid/vertebral artery dissection?
turbulent flow leading to blood clots which can lodge in the brain and lead to stroke
how would you diagnose carotid and vertebral artery dissection?
MRI/MRA, doppler, angiography
how would you treat carotid and vertebral artery dissection
aspirin or anticoagulation
what can lead to chronic subdural haemorrhage?
banging head - veins are thin and easily traumatised, shearing of veins can lead to haemorrhage
how do you treat chronic subdural haemorrhage?
burr hole surgery
What type of haemorrhage is this?
What is shown in the image as a result of this?
subdural, blood is dark as already begun to degrade (taken at a later stage), ventricles pushed to one side and squashed due to increased pressure, gyri and sulci not visible
What is temporal arteritis?
inflammation of blood vessels
what age group is temporal arteritis most common in?
females over 55
what is the presentation of temporal arteritis headache?
- constant unilateral
- scalp tenderness
- jaw claudication
what do we need to watch out for in temporal arteritis headache?
involvement of posterior ciliary arteries - can cause blindness
which inflammatory markers will be increased in a temporal arteritis headache?
ESR and CRP
which artery will be inflamed in temporal arteritis?
temporal artery
how can you diagnose temporal arteritis?
ultrasound and biopsy showing inflammation and giant cells
how would you treat temporal arteritis?
high dose steroids (inflammation) and aspirin (prevents stroke)
what is central venous thrombosis?
blood clot in the dural venous sinus or cerebral vein
What raises your risk of cerebral venous thrombosis?
thrombophilia, pregnancy, dehydration, behcets
what does cerebral venous thrombosis lead to?
venous infarcts and potentially haemorrhage.
What are the types of meningitis?
- viral
- bacterial
- tuberculous
- fungal (immunosuppressed)
- granulomatous
- syphilis
- carcinomatous
these symptoms indicate which disease?
- malaise
- headache
- fever
- neck stiffness
- photophobia
- confusion
- alteration of consciousness
meningitis