Neurosciences 2016; Vol. 21 (2): 151-157 doi: 10.17712/nsj.2016.2.20150640
Célestin Kaputu-Kalala-Malu, MMED, PhD, Timothy D. Walker, FRACP, MPHTM, Olga Ntumba-Tshitenge, MD, Eric M. Mafuta, MD, MPH, Pierrot L. Tugirimana, MD, PhD, Jean P. Misson, MD, PhD.
Classification of Headache Disorders, management, and 3-month clinical outcome from the medical records of all patients who consulted for headache over 36-month period. Epi Data and Statistical package for Social sciences software version 21.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA) software were used for data processing.
Results:
Headache disorders represent a quarter of all neurological consultations. Patients were predominantly female (67%) and young (78% <45 years old). One-third (34%) presented with chronic tension-type headache. Neuroimaging demonstrated an abnormality in a significant minority (14%). Amitriptyline was the most commonly used drug (60%) in management. Forty percent of those patients followed for 3 months did not experience any clinical improvement.
Conclusion: Headache is among the most common medical complaints in the Outpatient Neurology Clinic, with a wide array of underlying diagnoses, and a significant yield on neuroimaging. A significant proportion of those suffering from headache disorders have poor short-term outcomes. Novel approaches, such as headache support groups and alternative pharmacological agents, should be investigated for these patients.