Headache in children treated at Hospital General de México “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”

Karen García-García, Anaesthesiology Service, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea González, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico City, Mexico
Mariana Figueroa-Jaramillo, High Specialty Department of Paediatric Algology, Mexico City, Mexico
Elisa Hernández-Ramírez, Pain Clinic, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga. Mexico City, Mexico
María A. Florez-Muñoz, Pain Clinic, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga, Mexico City, Mexico

Introduction: The study aimed prevalence of primary and secondary headaches in children attending the Pain Clinic of Hospital General de México “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”. Objective: The objective of the study was to identify the prevalence of headaches in children at the Pain Clinic of the Hospital General de México. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional, and observational study of pediatric patients between 5 and 17 years old at the Pediatric Algology service with a headache from January 1, 2012, to January 1, 2017. They were included and classified according to the type of headache, age, and gender. Results: During the time of the study, 4281 consultations were obtained with 526 patients with headaches. Twenty-three percent had primary headaches, most frequently migraine-type (18.25%) and secondary (12.54%) with vascular headache as the most frequent. Not included in any of these categories were the remaining 63.88% as under study. After 13 years of age, the most affected gender was female. Conclusions: Headaches are one of the most common complaints, the most frequent is primary. Its prevalence varies greatly and increases throughout childhood.

Keywords: Primary and secondary headaches. Children. Adolescents. Epidemiology.