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Case Reports
. 2021 Sep;61(8):1277-1280.
doi: 10.1111/head.14197. Epub 2021 Aug 7.

Toward a better understanding of persistent headache after mild COVID-19: Three migraine-like yet distinct scenarios

Edoardo Caronna  1   2 , Alicia Alpuente  1   2 , Marta Torres-Ferrus  1   2 , Patricia Pozo-Rosich  1   2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Toward a better understanding of persistent headache after mild COVID-19: Three migraine-like yet distinct scenarios

Edoardo Caronna et al. Headache. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

One year after the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), referrals for persistent headache, often defined as "post-COVID headache," have become increasingly common in outpatient headache clinics. However, it is important to take into consideration that this term may include a spectrum of clinically different headache types. We describe three cases of migraine-like headaches in individuals with a history of mild COVID-19 infection to demonstrate some of the different phenotypes of persistent headaches seen. These cases highlight the importance of a careful evaluation when assessing the complexities of "post-COVID headache" as well as the need to further investigate the different, underlying, pathophysiological mechanisms.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; headache; migraine; post-COVID-19.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr. Caronna has received honoraria from Lundbeck, Novartis, and Chiesi. Dr. Alpuente has received honoraria from Allergan plc, Novartis, and Chiesi. Dr. Torres‐Ferrus has received honoraria from Allergan plc, Novartis, and Chiesi. Dr. Pozo‐Rosich has received honoraria as a consultant and speaker for: Allergan‐AbbVie, Almirall, Biohaven, Chiesi, Eli Lilly, Medscape, Neurodiem, Novartis, and Teva. Her research group has received research grants from Novartis and funding for clinical trials from Alder, Amgen, Electrocore, Eli Lilly, Novartis, and Teva. She is an Elected Trustee of the board for the International Headache Society and a member of the Council for the European Headache Federation. She is a member of the editorial board for Revista de Neurologia. She is an editor for Cephalalgia, Headache, Neurologia, Frontiers of Neurology and an advisor for The Journal of Headache and Pain. She is a member of the Clinical Trials Standing Committee for the International Headache Society. She has edited the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Headache for the Spanish Society of Neurology. She is the founder of www.midolordecabeza.org. P.P.‐R. does not own stocks from any pharmaceutical company. There are no conflicts of interest with regard to this manuscript.

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