Cluster headache in children – Experience from a specialist headache clinic

Trigeminal autonomic cephalgia: A rare cause of headache in children

“…Another series of 11 patients identified by Majumdar et al . found similar findings and reported a high frequency of thrashing about, screaming and crying . Our patient is one of the youngest compared to those reported in the literature with episodes reported as beginning at 10 months of age.…”

Childhood‐Onset Cluster Headache: Observations From a Personal Case‐Series and Review of the Literature

“…Although Del Bene et al reported a lower frequency of associated CAS among children, the distribution of CAS seems to be similar in both adult and pediatric patients, with lacrimation being the most common symptom, followed by conjunctival injection and rhinorrhea. Restlessness during CH seems to be less frequent compared to adult onset CH . When present, restlessness can manifest in peculiar ways, such as thrashing around or bizarre behaviors leading to expulsion form school; these features can distract the attention from headache and contribute to a delay in diagnosis …”

“…CH starting in childhood or adolescence closely resembles adults' headache in its pivotal clinical features, and is distinct from migraine; coherently, the IHS classification has never included special criteria or comments for these early onset CH cases. In prelingual patients, headache distinctive features have to be inferred from parental observation, while in older children, a change of behavior in school may disclose the presence of a cardinal symptom like psychomotor agitation …”

Short lasting activity-related headaches with sudden onset in children: a case-based reasoning on classification and diagnosis

“…Short lasting headaches include short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT), primary stabbing headache, cluster headache, paroxysmal hemicrania, and neck-tongue syndrome [1,20-25]. …”

“…Cluster headache (3.1, ICHD-II) [1], that affects adults, consists of strictly unilateral pain attacks, more frequent (1-8 times a day), longer (15-180 minutes) and associated with ipsilateral autonomic symptoms [25]; therefore it can be excluded in our cases. The same applies to paroxysmal hemicrania (3.2, ICHD-II) [1] that is a rare condition, particular in children, similar to cluster headache but with shorter duration (2-30 minutes) and higher frequency (> 5 times a day).…”