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Updated: Jun 21, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Assume it is migraine unless proven otherwise
1Ryan Headache Center, Mercy Health Research, Chesterfield, MO 63017, USA. tsmith@stlo.mercy.net
Postgraduate Medicine
|August 12, 2009
Summary
Migraine is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. This guide offers practical diagnosis advice for primary care, emphasizing pattern recognition over strict criteria for effective migraine management.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Primary Care Medicine
Background:
- Migraine remains underdiagnosed and undertreated despite advances in understanding and treatment.
- Primary care settings are crucial as many patients first seek headache evaluation here.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide practical guidance for diagnosing migraine in primary care.
- To differentiate primary headaches (migraine, tension-type, cluster) from secondary headaches.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent research and expert opinion.
- Emphasis on clinical history, neurological examination, and patient-reported data.
- Utilizing a pattern-based approach for migraine diagnosis, considering episodic, severe, disabling headaches.
Main Results:
- Suggests a practical diagnostic approach for primary care, moving beyond overly strict International Headache Society criteria.
- Highlights the importance of identifying patterns of headache and disability, including medication overuse headache.
- Recommends considering migraine in patients with a stable pattern of disabling episodic headaches.
Conclusions:
- Migraine diagnosis in primary care can be improved by a practical, pattern-based approach.
- Clinicians should be vigilant for medication overuse headache and uncontrolled migraine.
- Accurate diagnosis in primary care is essential for timely and effective migraine treatment.
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