Chronic daily bilateral headache responsive to indomethacin

Abstract

Indomethacin is known to be specifically effective for chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, episodic paroxysmal hemicrania, and hemicrania continua. Different forms of idiopathic stabbing headaches have also been responsive to indomethacin, but less consistently than the others. Two cases of indomethacin-responsive headache are reported. One patient presented with what appeared to be new-onset, chronic, daily, bilateral headache aggravated by coughing. Both the chronic daily headache and the exacerbations induced by coughing were suppressed with indomethacin therapy. The second patient experienced hemicrania continua responsive to indomethacin, and the response persisted even when the headache evolved into bilateral continuous pain. There may be other idiopathic primary headache disorders that are peculiarly responsive to indomethacin. When any primary headache disorder does not respond to standard therapy, a brief therapeutic trial of indomethacin is warranted.