Cluster headache

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In medicine, a cluster headache is "a primary headache disorder that is characterized by severe, strictly unilateral pain which is orbital, supraorbital, temporal or in any combination of these sites, lasting 15-180 min. occurring 1 to 8 times a day. The attacks are associated with one or more of the following, all of which are ipsilateral: conjunctival injection, lacrimation, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, facial sweating, eyelid edema, and miosis."[1]

Diagnosis

Diagnostic criteria developed by the International Headache Society are:[2]
A. At least 5 attacks fulfilling criteria B-D
B. Severe or very severe unilateral orbital, supraorbital and/or temporal pain lasting 15-180 minutes if untreated1
C. Headache is accompanied by at least one of the following:

  1. ipsilateral conjunctival injection and/or lacrimation
  2. ipsilateral nasal congestion and/or rhinorrhoea
  3. ipsilateral eyelid oedema
  4. ipsilateral forehead and facial sweating
  5. ipsilateral miosis and/or ptosis
  6. a sense of restlessness or agitation

D. Attacks have a frequency from one every other day to 8 per day
E. Not attributed to another disorder

Treatment

Treatment options have been reviewed in a meta-analysis.[3]