RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The comorbidity of headaches in pediatric epilepsy patients: How common and what types?
JF Neurosciences Journal
JO Neurosciences (Riyadh)
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 284
OP 289
DO 10.17712/nsj.2019.4.20190043
VO 24
IS 4
A1 Al-Gethami, Hanin
A1 Alrifai Muhammad, Talal
A1 AlRumayyan, Ahmed
A1 AlTuwaijri, Waleed
A1 Baarmah, Duaa
YR 2019
UL http://nsj.org.sa/content/24/4/284.abstract
AB Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and characteristics of headache in pediatric epileptic patients.Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed over 6 months period from January 2018 to June 2018 at King Abdullah Specialist Children Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia using a structured questionnaire in pediatric patients with epilepsy.Results: There were 142 patients enrolled (males, 57.7%; average age, 10.7±3.1 years) with idiopathic epilepsy (n=115, 81%) or symptomatic epilepsy (n=27, 19%). Additionally, patients had focal epilepsy (n=102, 72%) or generalized epilepsy (n=40, 28%), and among them, 11 had absence epilepsy. Overall, 65 (45.7%) patients had headaches compared with 3/153 (2%) in the control group (p < 0.0001). Among the 65 patients with headaches, 29 (44.6%) had migraine-type, 12 (18.4%) had tension-type, and 24 (36.9%) had unclassified headache. There was no significant difference in age, gender, type of epilepsy syndrome, and antiepileptic used except in patients with or without headache. For migraine patients, there was a lower headache prevalence in the subgroup treated with valproic acid compared with other treatments.Conclusion: Headache, predominantly migraine, is a common problem in pediatric epileptic patients and choosing valproic acid when possible can be important in preventing migraine in these patients.