title: Characteristics of acute posttraumatic headache following mild head injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To examine the prevalence and characteristics of acute posttraumatic headache (APTH) attributed to mild head injury within a prospective, observational study design.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 100 patients with acute mild head injury as defined in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition (ICHD-2) presenting to the department of trauma surgery at the Medical University of Vienna. Patients underwent a detailed telephone interview between days 7 and 10 and between days 90 and 100 after the injury.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of APTH was 66%. APTH had occurred within 24 hours after the trauma in 78% and lasted for a median of 3.0 days. Headache was unilateral in 45%. Aggravation by physical activity, nausea and photo-/phonophobia was present in 49%, 42% and 55%, respectively. The prevalence of APTH was related to conditions of chronic pain (excluding headache), pre-existing episodic headache, number of posttraumatic symptoms, anxiety and depression. At follow-up at 90-100 days, posttraumatic headache had abated in all patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  APTH attributed to mild head injury is a common but self-limiting condition frequently showing migrainous features. Participants with chronic pain other than headache, pre-existing headache and affective disorders are at higher risk of developing APTH. None of the patients developed chronic posttraumatic headache.
authors: Medical University of Vienna, Austria. doris.lieba-samal@meduniwien.ac.at
authors: Doris
authors: D
authors: Lieba-Samal
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Platzer
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Seidel
authors: Petra
authors: P
authors: Klaschterka
authors: Astrid
authors: A
authors: Knopf
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Wöber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051298:Post-Traumatic Headache / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence