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Postpartum Headache: A Common Symptom for Different Diagnoses

Rui Macedo-Campos1, Diana Silva2, Carlos Silva2

  • 1Anesthesiology, ULS (Unidade Local de Saúde) Santa Maria, Lisbon, PRT.

Cureus
|June 1, 2026
PubMed

Headache is a common symptom in the postpartum period. The combination of postpartum headache and neuraxial analgesia or anaesthesia, even without evidence of dural puncture, may suggest post-dural puncture headache (PDPH), especially if there is a correlation between the headache and orthostatic position. However, there are many possible causes for postpartum headache. This report highlights the diagnostic challenge of postpartum headache in patients who received neuraxial analgesia, where an initial misleading diagnosis of PDPH delayed recognition of an alternative etiology. It underscores the importance of maintaining a broad differential diagnosis and performing a detailed clinical assessment of typical and associated symptoms to identify overlapping or non-PDPH causes.

Keywords:
differential diagnosislabor epidural analgesianeuraxial anesthesia complicationsobstetric anesthesiapost-dural puncture headache (pdph)postpartum headachepuerperium

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