Thunderclap headache: is it migraine?

In a prospective study, 14 out of 49 patients presenting to a Regional Neurosurgical Unit with sudden headache suggestive of subarachnoid haemorrhage had normal CSF and a normal CT scan: it did not prove possible, on clinical grounds alone, to distinguish these from those that had bled. We have now...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCephalalgia Vol. 9; no. 2; p. 87
Main Authors Harling, D W, Peatfield, R C, Van Hille, P T, Abbott, R J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.06.1989
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Headache - etiology
Headache - physiopathology
Headache - psychology
Humans
Male
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - complications
Subarachnoid Hemorrhage - diagnosis
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Summary:In a prospective study, 14 out of 49 patients presenting to a Regional Neurosurgical Unit with sudden headache suggestive of subarachnoid haemorrhage had normal CSF and a normal CT scan: it did not prove possible, on clinical grounds alone, to distinguish these from those that had bled. We have now followed all these patients for a minimum of 18 months. Only one has had no further headache, 4 have had musculoskeletal pain, 5 psychogenic pain, and 4 migraine type symptoms. None went on to have an unequivocal subarachnoid haemorrhage, and we conclude that angiography cannot be justified in patients with this type of "thunderclap headache".
ISSN:0333-1024
DOI:10.1046/j.1468-2982.1989.0902087.x