RESUMEN
Headache disorders, particularly migraine, are one of the most common and disabling neurological disorders. There is a need for high-quality, accessible care for patients with headache disorders across all levels of the healthcare system in Singapore. The role of the Headache Society of Singapore is to increase awareness and advance the understanding of these disorders and to advocate for the needs of affected patients. In this first edition of local consensus guidelines, we focus on treatment approaches for headaches and provide consensus recommendations for the management of migraine in adults. The recommendations in these guidelines can be used as a practical tool in routine clinical practice by primary care physicians, neurologists and other healthcare professionals who have a common interest in headache disorders.
RESUMEN
Headaches are common in primary care. For safe assessment and management of the patient with headache, a focused history and physical examination are important to identify secondary headache, and find out whether an immediate referral to the emergency department or a non-emergent referral to the neurologist is warranted. The majority of patients with primary headache may be safely managed in the outpatient setting. Key steps include proper categorisation of the primary headache, attention to lifestyle and psychosocial factors, prescription of analgesics for acute pain relief, and the use of preventive medication when indicated. The patient with a cluster headache, a headache of uncertain diagnosis and/or poor response to preventive strategies or a migraine with persistent aura, or a headache with associated motor weakness, should be referred to a neurologist. Secondary headache and the diagnosis of medication overuse headache should be considered in a patient on long-term analgesics with unremitting headache.