Clinical characteristics and treatment patterns of patients with episodic cluster headache: results from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.

People with cluster headache (CH) experience headache attacks of excruciating stabbing pain, usually on one side of the head around the eye. These headache attacks typically last between 15 min and 3 h, and come in clusters (or bouts) occurring up to several times a day for a few weeks or months at a time. This greatly impacts a patient's quality of life.We surveyed doctors and their patients across the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, looking at symptoms that occurred during CH attacks, how long the headache attacks lasted, how often the patient had them, and what medicines were being given.Our results showed that patients with CH suffered from clusters (bouts) of headache attacks several times a year. Nearly, a third of patients had a wrong diagnosis before being diagnosed with CH. Patients experienced stress, agitation, restlessness, difficulty relaxing and depression during a headache attack, especially those who had more CH attacks each day.Although many patients were taking medication, only half of patients were prescribed medicines to prevent their headache attack from starting. Side effects and the medicines not working were the most common reasons patients stopped taking medicine to prevent their headache attacks. The differences seen in medicines prescribed between countries suggest differences in guidance, or in doctors' awareness of current medication guidelines. Further studies about the need for and benefits of medicines to prevent CH attacks are needed.