Approach to Chronic Secondary Headache: A Case Report on Unusual Drug Side Effects

In this article, we present the case of a 12-year-old female child who complained of bilateral temporal and frontal headache for 2 to 3 months with nausea and vomiting. Physical examination revealed right-sided sixth cranial nerve palsy and papilledema in ophthalmoscopy. To find the cause of increased intracranial pressure, the patient underwent brain imaging and brain MRI showed no abnormality. Ultimately, lumbar puncture (LP) was performed and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure was 280 mmH₂O with normal chemistry. We considered pseudotumor cerebri as the first diagnosis. LP was carried out three times and 30cc of CSF was tapped each time. Finally, patient's headache and papilledema improved and physical examination after 6 months showed no sign of raised intracranial pressure (rICP). The most prominent point in her past medical history was the use of growth hormone (GH) for 2 years. No sign of symptom relapse has been seen after 6 months of drug discontinuation. We must consider the hazard of growth hormone as a potential cause of increased intracranial pressure. When the use of GH is justified, the follow-up must include an ophthalmoscopy examination in each session.