title: Primary stabbing headache in a headache clinic.
abstract: Primary stabbing headache (PSH) is a short-lasting but troublesome headache disorder which has been known for several decades. We surveyed and registered consecutive patients with PSH in a headache clinic in Taiwan. A total of 80 patients (24 M/56 F, 53.2 +/- 16.2 years) were enrolled in our study. Migraine was reported in 20 (25%) patients and was less common in those with PSH onset at >50 years than those with onset at <50 years (14% vs. 38%, P = 0.02). The headache was unilateral in 59% of the patients and always in a fixed area in 36%. The head pain frequently involved extratrigeminal regions (70%) and in 30 patients (38%) was accompanied by jolts, i.e. head or body movements. Indomethacin was effective (74%) in patients who received it. Our study showed primary stabbing headache was a common and easily treated headache disorder in headache clinic. However, 70% of our patients could not fulfil criterion A 'exclusively or predominantly in the distribution of the first division of the trigeminal nerve' and 15% could not fulfil criterion C 'no accompanying symptoms' of the International Classification of Headache Disorders-II criteria proposed for PSH.
authors.affiliation: Neurological Institute, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fuh
authors.forename: K-H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: S-J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D051270:Headache Disorders, Primary / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018710:Pain Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome