Post-traumatic headache

Abstract

Post-traumatic headaches as well as post-traumatic syndrome can occur in patients after mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury. Most of the patients' symptoms clear within the first 3 to 6 months; however, there are no precise criteria for predicting the clinical outcome. The diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic headaches were defined by the International Headache Society in 2004 and are helpful for classification. Evaluation must be done on an individual basis, and patients who do not clear their symptoms may need neuroimaging. The headaches fall into the category of chronic tension-type headache as well as headaches compatible with migraine and are treated in a similar fashion. There is a small group of people who do not respond and have long-term problems. These patients may benefit from a combination of pharmacologic, nonpharmacologic, and neuropsychiatric treatment. Long-term studies are needed to help clarify the history of these patients.