Study on Headache Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Headache is a very common complains amongst patients attending inpatient and outpatient departments of Medicine and Neuromedicine. In this study an attempt has been made to evaluate the etiological and clinical pattern of headache in our populations. The results of the study will help prompt and early diagnosis of headache patients. Methods: This study was conducted in the department of Medicine and Neuromedicine of SSMC and Mitford Hospital from 1st July, 2014 to 31st December, 2014. This is a prospective observational study. Sample size is 100. Qualitative purposive sampling has been done. Sample has been selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Proper history taking, thorough physical examination and necessary investigation have been done to find out the etiology of headache. The data has been recorded in a structured format and analyzed by computer software SPSS. Result: In the study mean age of the respondents was 39.8±26.66 (at 95% CI). Male and female ratio was 0.72:1. This study revealed that out of 100 patients 60 patients had Tension type headache (TTH), 11 patients had migraine, 15 patients had mixed cranial headache (MCH), 1 patient to Cluster headache (CH) and 13 patients had secondary headache. It was seen that most patients (87%) suffered from primary headache with TTH being the commonest diagnosis. Females were more affected than male in all groups except secondary headache. There was decline in primary headache with advancing age as the number of secondary headache increased. Investigations were needed in a very small group of patients. Conclusion: It is very important to differentiate the different types of headache. Knowledge about etiological pattern of headache will help clinically in prioritizing the patients, in planning investigations, early diagnosis and prompt management and prevent complications of the patients.