CHARACTERISTICS AND RISK FACTORS OF CHRONIC POST-TRAUMATIC HEADACHE AFTER MILD HEAD INJURY- A STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN EASTERN INDIA

Journal Title: Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences - Year 2019, Vol 8, Issue 17

Abstract

BACKGROUND Traumatic head injury is one of the most important public health problems. 75% of all head injuries are mild. Leading causes of head injuries are road traffic accident, falls, assaults, colliding with moving or stationary objects. Headache is one of the most common symptoms after mild head injuries (MHI). When headache starts within 7 days of head injury, it is called as post traumatic headache (PTH). PTH occurs in 30-90% of patients with MHI, majority of which resolves within a few months, but when it persists beyond 3 months- it is termed as chronic PTH (cPTH). Trauma to the extracranial and intracranial structures produces neurogenic inflammation-leading to both peripheral and central sensitization. They not only produce headache but also help in the perpetuation of pain. Majority of cPTH are tension type headache (TTH) and migraine. Others like medication overuse headache (MOH), coexisting migraine and TTH, cluster headache, occipital neuralgia, hemicrania continua, supraorbital neuralgia are rare. Diagnosis of cPTH is mainly clinical. Investigations are helpful to exclude other secondary causes. Some risk factors like female gender, poor socioeconomic status, past history and family history of headache are associated with cPTH. Aim of the study is to identify the characteristics and risk factors for cPTH in our population. METHODS This is a cross sectional observational study that included patients attending outdoor or admitted in the indoor of Neurology and Neurosurgery departments of CNMCH with headache that persisted more than 3 months of MHI. The study period was from 1.8.2016 to 1.7.2018. MHI were diagnosed by emergency and neurosurgery department of our hospitals as those patients who presented within 24 hours with any of the criteria laid down by ICHD3 for MHI. Exclusion criteria were those below 15 years and above 65 years of age, moderate or severe head injury, whiplash injury, MHI with subsequent deterioration, clinical features and imaging suggestive of any other secondary causes of headache. Detailed history was taken, and neurological examination was done to detect the type of headache disorder and exclude other secondary headache disorders. Routine blood tests and CT scan of brain followed by MRI brain were done for every patient while LP and EEG were done in selected cases. In some cases, indomethacin response (Hemicrania continua), nerve block (Occipital, supra orbital neuralgia) was done for confirmation of diagnosis. All data were noted and analysed. This was a cross sectional-observational study and sample size was 91. RESULTS Most common types of cPTH were TTH and migraine. Other rare types were occipital neuralgia and supraorbital neuralgia. Chronic TTH is more common than episodic TTH in this sample. Chronic migraine seems to be higher in this patient group compared with non-traumatic migraine. Road traffic accident is still the major cause of head injury. Risk factors for chronic post traumatic headache are female gender, poor literacy rate, higher unemployment rate, poor socioeconomic status and family history of headache. CONCLUSIONS Mild head injury may cause a lot of morbidity including various types of headache disorders. Identification of headache disorder is important as the patient can be educated about their illness and proper treatment can be administered, to alleviate their symptoms which can be disabling.

Authors and Affiliations

Ramesh Bhattacharyya, Shantanu Ghosh, Kartick Chandra Ghosh, Sarbajit Ghosh, Suman Das, Hema Krishna Pattem, Gouranga Prasad Mondal

Keywords

Related Articles

  INGUINAL HERNIA SURGERY UNDER LOCAL ANAESTHESIA, AS DAY CARE SURGERY AND COMPARISON AMONG THREE GROUP OF PATIENTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO TYPE OF MESH USED

  [b]BACKGROUND[/b]: Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most commonly performed operations worldwide. This study was done to evaluate, local anesthesia as choice of procedure for inguinal hernia as day care su...

 THE STUDY OF HEPATO-RENAL PROFILE ASSOCIATED WITH LEAD TOXICITY IN SPRAY PAINTERS

 Lead is a soft, dense, ductle, blue-grey metal. Lead is very stable and resistant to corrosion. It does not conduct electricity. Lead is effective shield against radiation. Lead present in natural deposits as...

 A VARIANT MUSCLE OF THE FLEXOR COMPARTMENT OF FOREARM: A CASE REPORT

 Variations of the muscles are well known and documented. Here we report a unilateral variation of flexor digitorum profundus in the ventral aspect of the distal forearm of an elderly male cadaver. The variant m...

CAECAL VOLVULUS- A CASE REPORT

CASE PRESENTATION An 18-year-old female presented to surgical emergency with complaints of progressive abdominal distension, vomiting, constipation and fever of 3 days duration. On examination, she was febrile. Abdomen w...

NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN THROUGH ANTHROPOMETRIC ASSESSMENT IN RURAL AREAS OF HAJIPUR

BACKGROUND One of the greatest problems in India is undernutrition. Nutrition of primary school children is of paramount importance because the foundation for their lifetime health, strength and intellectual vitality is...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP613502
  • DOI 10.14260/jemds/2019/306
  • Views 71
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Ramesh Bhattacharyya, Shantanu Ghosh, Kartick Chandra Ghosh, Sarbajit Ghosh, Suman Das, Hema Krishna Pattem, Gouranga Prasad Mondal (2019). CHARACTERISTICS AND RISK FACTORS OF CHRONIC POST-TRAUMATIC HEADACHE AFTER MILD HEAD INJURY- A STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE IN EASTERN INDIA. Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences, 8(17), 1376-1380. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-613502