Cluster headache in childhood and adolescence: one-year prevalence in an out-patient population

Abstract

A multicenter one-year study was carried out on 6629 headache patients under 18 years of age, attending 27 centers and clinics devoted to headache in Italy to identify the prevalence of cluster headache (CH) in childhood and adolescence. Two male CH patients aged 9 and 17 years were identified. Their attacks fulfilled the IHS criteria for CH, and they were classified as having cluster headache with undetermined periodicity and episodic cluster headache, respectively. The one-year prevalence in this headache out-patient population under 18 years of age was calculated to be 0.03%. This value is smaller than that derived in the general population. This finding further confirms the rarity of early diagnosis of this primary disorder in childhood and adolescence, as demonstrated in other studies.

Therapy-resistant cluster headache in childhood: Case report and literature review

“…3-18 years), since several cases with onset under 10 years have been reported (5,6,8,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20) Genetic factors appear to be involved in the same proportion as in the adult population, as a pedigree positive for CH has been found in approximately 10% of cases, whereas a pedigree positive for migraine-type headache was found in 25% of cases. Male : female ratio seems to show almost the same proportion (M : F~3.2:1) as in adulthood.…”

A Case Report: Cluster Headache in Childhood

“…According to these data, the most effective symptomatic treatments are oxygen and sumatriptan [6]. Prophylactic treatments tried in literature are methysergide, prednisone/prednisolone, verapamil, and flunarizine [7]. No controlled study has been reported.…”

Uncommon Headache Syndromes in the Pediatric Population

“…In 18-year-old Swedish Army recruits, prevalence was only 0.09% [14]. In a multicenter pediatric study, only two cases of CH were seen among 6629 children and adolescents attended in 27 Italian headache centers [15]. Nonetheless, if a first-degree relative is affected, chances of CH increase by up to 14-fold.…”

“…A recent systematic review found that only 80 cases of CH in children have been reported [15][16][17][18][19][20]21••], and many of them did not meet the full ICHD-II diagnostic criteria for CH. In many, pain was described as bilateral, while others responded to propranolol or other migraine preventive medications, raising the question whether CH has a different phenotype in children or if diagnostic issues exist.…”