Chronic headache is one of the most common symptom in childhood disease and migraine is the second or third common cause of childhood headache. But pediatricians have difficulties in making diagnosis and management in migraine headache in
children
despite elaborate diagnostic procedure because children couldn't describe their own symptoms accurately.
In this study, we evaluated the clinical characteristics of childhood migraine by careful history taking, physical and neurologic examination, EEG and radiologic neuroimaging study, if needed.
Thirty patients were diagnosed as migraine at the department f pediatrics, Asan Medical Center July 1992 to December 1994. The patients were divided into three groups. One group included 16 cases who were not treated and another group had 6 cases
who
were treated with acetaminophen and the other group had 7 cases who were treated with acetaminophen and β-blocker.
There were 30 cases in 12 males(40%) and 18 females(60%) in series and average age was 11.6 years ranging from 7 years to 15 years. He classification of migraine were common migraine(46.7%), classic migraine(36.7%) and basilar migraine(16.7%).
The
locations of headache were temporal(43.3%), frontal(26.7%) ad occipital(3.3%). Unilateral headache were 10 cases(33.3%). The associated symptoms were nausea(73.3%). Vomiting(40%), pallor (23.3%), abdominal pain(16.7%), and ocular pain(16.7%).
There
were 13 auras and 18 positive family histories. The nature of headache were throbbing (46.7%), heaviness(13.3%) and sharp pain(6.7%). The relieving factors were sleep(36.7%) and (23.3%). Acetaminophen and β-blocker could reduce headache in more
than
fifty percentages of treated patients. However, counselling alone could reduce headache, also.
We concluded that migraine was one of the most common cause of childhood headache and responded will to acetaminophen and β-blocker, More than one half underwent spontaneous remission after several months or years after counselling.
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