Clinical Features and Longterm Prognosis of Trochlear Headaches
European Journal of Neurology 2013 doi:10.1111/ene.12312 Clinical features and long-term prognosis of trochlear headaches J. H. Smitha, J. A. Garrityb and C. J. Boesc aDepartment of Neurology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY; bDepartment of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; and cDepartment of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA Keywords: Background and purpose: Trochlear headaches are a recently recognized cause of chronic daily headache, headache, of which both primary and inflammatory subtypes are recognized. The migraine, neuro- clinical features, long-term prognosis and optimal treatment strategy have not been ophthalmology, ocular well defined. movements, secondary Methods: A cohort of 25 patients with trochlear headache seen at the Mayo Clinic headache disorders, between 10 July 2007 and 28 June 2012 were identified. trochlea, trochleitis Results: The diagnosis of trochlear headache was not recognized by the referring neurologist or ophthalmologist in any case. Patients most often presented with a new Received 13 September 2013 daily from onset headache (n = 22, 88%). The most characteristic headache syndrome Accepted 21 October 2013 was reported as continuous, achy, periorbital pain associated with photophobia and aggravation by eye movement, especially reading. Individuals with a prior history of migraine were likely to have associated nausea and experience trochlear migraine. Amongst individuals with trochleitis, 5/12 (41.6%) had an identified secondary mecha- nism. Treatment responses were generally, but not invariably, favorable to dexameth- asone/lidocaine injections near the trochlea. At a median follow-up of 34 months (range 0–68), 10/25 (40%) of the cohort had experienced complete remission. Conclusions: Trochlear headaches are poorly recognized, have characteristic clinical features, and often require serial injections to optimize the treatment outcome.
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