Symptomatic Overlap and Therapeutic Opportunities in Primary Headache

Abstract

Headache, a nearly universal experience, remains costly, disabling, and often suboptimally managed. The most common presentations in the United States are migraine, tension-type headache (TTH) and "sinus" headache, but their extensive symptomatic overlap suggests that these conditions can be approached as variations in the same underlying pathology and managed accordingly. We use case studies of patients with varying prior diagnoses (none, migraine, TTH, and sinus headache), as well as a 4-question diagnostic screening tool, to illustrate how pharmacists can use this conceptual framework to simplify identification, management, and referral of patients with primary headache conditions of uncertain etiology.

Keywords: headache; migraine; neurology; over-the-counter; tension-headache.