An unusual flight-associated occipital headache

Nath, Shivika; Saxena, Ashok Kumar

doi:10.17712/nsj.2017.1.20150511

Cited by 2 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“… • The authors supported the established hypothesis that changes in the pressure might play a key role in the mechanism of AH. 2017, Nath et al [ 40 ] 2 2 M 45.5 ± 3.5 Case reports • The patients experienced a bilateral occipital and parieto-occipital severe sharp shooting stabbing and piercing headache during the landing. The headache was associated with severe dizziness and lasted 40–50 min after landing.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The clinical diagnostic data are presented as cumulative from all included papers (Table 1 ) [ 2 – 40 ]. In this cumulative synthesis, 275 patients are represented [ 2 , 4 – 13 , 15 – 19 , 21 , 25 – 28 , 31 , 33 – 37 , 39 , 40 ]; 127 females (46%) and 148 males (54%). The median age at diagnosis was 28.7 ± 4.8 (mean ± SD) years ( n = 275/275) and the median age of onset of the first AH-attack was 26.4 ± 3.8 (mean ± SD) years (reported by 163/275 patients).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pathophysiology of AH is still unknown, but speculative hypotheses have been proposed. The most frequently discussed mechanism for AH is that the changes in the cabin pressure during take-off and landing may lead to sinus barotrauma, local inflammation, and thereby development of AH [ 2 – 7 , 9 – 14 , 18 – 21 , 24 – 27 , 32 , 35 , 39 , 40 ]. Due to possible variations in the anatomical and structural construction in the individual ethmoid sinuses, including ethmoid cells, these patients cannot equalize the pressure during the take-off or landing [ 7 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The stereotypical clinical symptom of AH is an intense unilateral pain locating in the fronto-orbital region. The pain is very severe and is often described as 8–10 on a pain scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst imaginable pain [ 2 , 4 , 6 , 9 , 25 , 35 , 40 ]. The pain disappears within 30 min in most cases, where it seems that the AH duration might correspond to the duration of take-off and landing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Headache attributed to airplane travel: diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment – a systematic review

Bui

Gazerani

2017

J Headache Pain

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BackgroundHeadache attributed to airplane travel, also named "airplane headache" (AH) is a headache that occurs during take-off and landing. Today, there are still uncertainties about the pathophysiology and treatment of AH. This systematic review was performed to facilitate identification of the existing literature on AH in order to discuss the current evidence and areas that remain to be investigated in AH.MethodsThe systematic literature search was performed in 3 relevant medical databases; PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. The search yielded 220 papers and the papers were sorted based on inclusion and exclusion criteria established for this study.ResultsThis systematic review included 39 papers. Main findings revealed that AH attacks are clinically stereotyped and appear mostly during landing phases. The headache presents as a severe painful headache that often disappears within 30 min. The pain is unilateral and localized in the fronto-orbital region. Sinus barotrauma has been considered as the main cause of AH. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and triptans have been taken by passengers with AH, to relieve the headache.ConclusionsBased on this systematic review, further studies seem required to investigate underlying mechanisms in AH and also to investigate the biological effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and triptans for alleviating of AH. These studies would advance our understanding of AH pathogenesis and potential use of treatments that are not yet established.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Headache attributed to airplane travel: diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment – a systematic review

Bui

Gazerani

2017

J Headache Pain

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“…The official insertion of AH in the international classification attracted the attention of the scientific community; subsequently and up until publication of this article, 45 publications in English on the topic have been published …”

Section: Historical Outlinementioning

confidence: 99%

Headache Attributed to Aeroplane Travel: An Historical Outline

2019

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Introduction.-Headache attributed to aeroplane travel (AH) is one of the new nosological entries in the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) 3 beta. Materials and Methods.-This study retraces the history of headache related to flight, from the initial description to the modern reports, on the basis of original sources. Results.-Head pain related to flight has been reported since the beginning of flight era. However, most of those early cases are easily recognized as secondary to an exceptional barotrauma and/or a sinusitis concomitant with the flight. Instead, contemporary research identified a new nosological entity, AH, which by definition occurs in normal flying conditions and in absence of any sinus pathology. Moreover, we identified recently similar forms of headache, triggered by sudden changes of external pressure (rapid descent from mountain, mountain descent headache, MDH); and ascent from diving, diving ascent headache (DAH).Conclusion.-Head pain related to flight has been reported since the origin of aviation, but it was caused by an exceptional barotrauma or a respiratory infection. Instead, AH occurs in normal flying conditions. Two newly identified conditions, MDH and DAH, appear to share a common pathogenetic mechanism with AH: namely the imbalance between intrasinusal and external air pressure. Therefore, we assert that an expansion of this entity of AH is something that should be considered in the next ICHD.

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An unusual flight-associated occipital headache

Cited by 2 publications

References 5 publications

Headache attributed to airplane travel: diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment – a systematic review

Headache attributed to airplane travel: diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment – a systematic review

Headache Attributed to Aeroplane Travel: An Historical Outline

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