Clinical features of cluster headache without cranial autonomic symptoms: results from a prospective multicentre study

Abstract Although cranial autonomic symptoms (CAS) are typical in cluster headache (CH), some individuals with CH show no CAS during their headache attacks. Probable cluster headache (PCH) is a subtype of CH that fulfils all but one criterion of CH. This study aimed to investigate the frequency and...

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Main Authors: Min Kyung Chu, Byung-Su Kim, Pil-Wook Chung, Byung-Kun Kim, Mi Ji Lee, Jeong Wook Park, Jin-Young Ahn, Dae Woong Bae, Tae-Jin Song, Jong-Hee Sohn, Kyungmi Oh, Daeyoung Kim, Jae-Moon Kim, Soo-Kyoung Kim, Yun-Ju Choi, Jae Myun Chung, Heui-Soo Moon, Chin-Sang Chung, Kwang-Yeol Park, Soo-Jin Cho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2021-03-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86408-7
Description
Summary:Abstract Although cranial autonomic symptoms (CAS) are typical in cluster headache (CH), some individuals with CH show no CAS during their headache attacks. Probable cluster headache (PCH) is a subtype of CH that fulfils all but one criterion of CH. This study aimed to investigate the frequency and clinical features of CH and PCH without CAS in comparison to those with CAS. We analysed data from the Korea Cluster Headache Registry, a prospective multicentre registry involving data from 16 hospitals. Of the 216 participants with CH and 26 with PCH, 19 (8.8%) and 7 (26.9%), respectively, did not have CAS. Participants with CH without CAS exhibited less severe anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7 score, median [interquartile range], 2.0 [1.0–6.0] vs 8.0 [3.0–12.0], p = 0.001) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score, 3.0 [1.0–7.0] vs 7.0 [3.0–11.0], p = 0.042) than those with CAS. Among participants with PCH, headache intensity was less severe in participants without CAS than in those with CAS (numeric rating scale, 8.0 [7.0–8.0] vs 9.5 [8.0–10.0], p = 0.015). In conclusion, a significant proportion of participants with CH and PCH did not have CAS. Some clinical features of CH and PCH differed based on the presence of CAS.
ISSN:2045-2322