Primary stabbing headache in children and adolescents

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pediatric Headache Disorders

Background:

• Primary stabbing headache (PSH), also known as ice-pick headaches, is characterized by brief, sharp head pain.
• Understanding PSH in children is crucial as its presentation may differ from adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the clinical features of primary stabbing headache (PSH) in typically developing children and adolescents.
• To characterize the duration, location, intensity, and frequency of PSH attacks in a pediatric cohort.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, non-interventional hospital-based study involving 42 children and adolescents diagnosed with PSH.
• Data collection included headache-focused history and/or headache diaries.
• Diagnosis adhered to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition (ICHD-3) beta version criteria.

Main Results:

• Headache stabs ranged from seconds to 10 minutes in duration.
• Stabs were predominantly located in extra-trigeminal regions (n=28) and varied from moderate to severe intensity.
• Frequency ranged from daily to monthly, with up to 50 stabs per attack; 17 patients had a family history of primary headaches.

Conclusions:

• The presentation of PSH in children and adolescents is highly variable.
• Childhood PSH may represent a distinct entity from adult PSH, warranting further investigation for potential ICHD-3 criteria refinement.