Epidemiological Assessment of Headache among the Patients with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Abstract

Background: Epilepsy is one the most common chronic neurological disorders. One third of patients with history of epilepsy are resistance to any remedy prescribed for them. Headache, as a usual complaint of epilepsy, affects the quality of life negatively. This epidemiological study was designed to assess headache types among the patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, referred to Isfahan Epileptic Center, Iran, with complaint of headache in year 2017. Type of epilepsy (temporal, extratemporal, or generalized), site of headache, time of headache, headache characteristics, duration of headache, headache periodicity, association of headache with seizure, and associated symptoms were assessed. Findings: Pulsatile (27.5%), pressure sensation, (26.7%) and heaviness (25.2%) were most prevalent characteristics of headaches. In addition, postictal (40%), between seizure attacks (34.2%), preictal (10%), prodromal (8.5%), and ictal (7.1%) headaches were the most prevalent types regarding the time of headache, respectively, only based on the history, not in electroencephalography (EEG). Conclusion: Findings of current epidemiological study are consistent with previous researches, and the most prevalent headache among the patients with drug-resistant epilepsy are pulsatile and postictal ones.

Keywords

• Prevalence
• Headache
• Drug resistant epilepsy