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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Headaches attributable to infectious diseases
Jonathan Gladstone1, Marcelo E Bigal
1Gladstone Headache Clinic, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. jon.gladstone@utoronto.ca
Current Pain and Headache Reports
|May 26, 2010
Summary
Headaches from infections like meningitis are often overlooked. Prompt diagnosis of infectious headaches is crucial to prevent severe patient outcomes and aid physicians.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Infectious Diseases
- Symptomatology
Background:
- Headache is a prevalent human symptom, with most cases being primary and benign.
- Secondary headaches, though less common, can indicate serious underlying conditions.
- Infectious causes of headaches are frequently underemphasized in medical education.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review headaches caused by systemic and intracranial infections.
- To highlight the importance of recognizing infectious etiologies of headaches.
- To provide physicians with an overview of these critical secondary headache types.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of infectious causes of headaches.
- Analysis of clinical presentations and diagnostic challenges.
- Synthesis of information on meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscess, and subdural empyema.
Main Results:
- Infectious headaches, if missed, can lead to severe patient morbidity and mortality.
- Conditions like meningitis and encephalitis present with headache as a key symptom.
- Early identification of infectious etiologies is vital for timely treatment.
Conclusions:
- Headaches secondary to infections require greater clinical attention.
- Physicians must be vigilant for infectious causes of headaches.
- Timely diagnosis and management of infectious headaches improve patient prognosis.
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