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Cluster headache: a single tertiary center study
Zeynep Tuncer Issı1, Nurcan Akbulut2, Vesile Öztürk3
1Department of Pain Management, Sakarya Research and Training Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey.
Insights
This study describes cluster headache (CH) patient characteristics in Turkey, revealing similarities and differences with global data. Findings highlight potential regional variations in CH presentation and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Clinical Neuroscience
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Cluster headache (CH) is a debilitating neurological disorder with documented clinical features and management strategies globally.
- However, limited clinical data from Turkey hinders a comprehensive understanding of regional variations in CH.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the clinical features, demographics, and treatment approaches of cluster headache patients in Turkey.
- To compare these findings with existing data from other global regions.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted.
- Data from 114 cluster headache patients diagnosed and referred to Dokuz Eylül University Headache Clinic between 1991 and 2018 were analyzed.
Main Results:
- The study included 114 patients (90 males, 24 females) with a mean age at onset of 31.68 years.
- Episodic cluster headache (ECH) was more prevalent (78.18%) than chronic cluster headache (CCH) (21.82%).
- The most common location was orbitotemporal, with lacrimation as the most frequent accompanying symptom. Verapamil was the most common prophylactic treatment.
Conclusions:
- Turkish cluster headache patients exhibit some clinical features similar to those in Europe, America, and Asia, but also notable differences.
- These findings suggest regional variations in cluster headache presentation.
- Further research from diverse countries is essential to objectively elucidate these clinical differences.
Object:
The characteristics of cluster headache (CH) patients in many countries and the diagnostic and therapeutic approach have been described in several publications, but so far no clinical data have been published from Turkey.
Material Methods:
This is a cross-sectional retrospective study that includes all patients who were diagnosed with CH and referred to our headache clinic, Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine, Neurology Department from 1991 to January 2018.
Results:
We included 114 patients (24 females and 90 males) in our study. The mean age at onset was 31.68 ± 12.72 (range 13-68). Eighty-six (78.18%) patients had episodic cluster headache (ECH) and 24 (21.82%) patients had chronic cluster headache (CCH). The age at onset was significantly higher in the patients with CCH than with ECH (p = 0.002). The most common location was orbitotemporal for both genders. The most common accompanying symptoms were lacrimation (80.73%). The male:female ratio in all patients was 3:7, 3.8:1 in those with CCH and 4:1 in those with ECH. Eighty-nine (87.25%) patients had prophylactic treatment and 60 of them received verapamil.
Conclusion:
In our study, some clinical features of our patients were similar to those of Europe and America or the Asian countries and some of them not. There are regional differences in cluster headache patients. With more awareness of cluster headache and research from many countries, clinical differences can be revealed more objectively in the future.
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