title: Treatment of primary headache in children: a multicenter hospital-based study in France.
abstract: The aim of this 6-month, prospective, multicenter study of 398 children and adolescents with primary headaches was to collect data on headache treatment in neuropediatric departments. Treatments were compared before and after consultation. Prior to consultation, the acute treatments that had been prescribed most frequently were paracetamol (82.2% of children) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs treatment (53.5%); 10.3% had received a prophylactic treatment. No differences in either acute or prophylactic treatment with respect to headache diagnosis were observed. After the neuropediatric consultation, paracetamol was replaced by a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug in about three-quarters of cases and by triptan in about one-quarter of cases. The number of children prescribed a prophylactic treatment nearly doubled, whereas there was a 5-fold and 23-fold increase in psychotherapy and relaxation training, respectively, between pre-referral and referral. We conclude that specific treatments were underused for primary headache.
authors.affiliation: Division of Paediatric Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, Lille Faculty of Medicine and Children's Hospital, Lille, France. jc-cuvellier@chru-lille.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cuvellier
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Donnet
authors.forename: Evelyne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guégan-Massardier
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nachit-Ouinekh
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parain
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vallée
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000293:Adolescent; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D051270:Headache Disorders, Primary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012064:Relaxation Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D000082:Acetaminophen