Faculty Collaboration Database

Occipital headaches and neuroimaging in children. Neurology 2017 Aug 01;89(5):469-474

Date

07/02/2017

Pubmed ID

28667183

Pubmed Central ID

PMC5539735

DOI

10.1212/WNL.0000000000004186

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85026520201 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   25 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the common thinking, as reinforced by the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta), that occipital headaches in children are rare and suggestive of serious intracranial pathology.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review cohort study of all patients ≤18 years of age referred to a university child neurology clinic for headache in 2009. Patients were stratified by headache location: solely occipital, occipital plus other area(s) of head pain, or no occipital involvement. Children with abnormal neurologic examinations were excluded. We assessed location as a predictor of whether neuroimaging was ordered and whether intracranial pathology was found. Analyses were performed with cohort study tools in Stata/SE 13.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX).

RESULTS: A total of 308 patients were included. Median age was 12 years (32 months-18 years), and 57% were female. Headaches were solely occipital in 7% and occipital-plus in 14%. Patients with occipital head pain were more likely to undergo neuroimaging than those without occipital involvement (solely occipital: 95%, relative risk [RR] 10.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-77.3; occipital-plus: 88%, RR 3.7, 95% CI 1.5-9.2; no occipital pain: 63%, referent). Occipital pain alone or with other locations was not significantly associated with radiographic evidence of clinically significant intracranial pathology.

CONCLUSIONS: Children with occipital headache are more likely to undergo neuroimaging. In the absence of concerning features on the history and in the setting of a normal neurologic examination, neuroimaging can be deferred in most pediatric patients when occipital pain is present.

Author List

Bear JJ, Gelfand AA, Goadsby PJ, Bass N

Author

Nancy Bass MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Headache
Humans
Male
Migraine Disorders
Neuroimaging
Occipital Lobe
Retrospective Studies