Sudden onset headaches in paediatric emergency departments: diagnosis and management.

Headache is one of the most common pain syndromes in the paediatric population. Headaches are classified as primary (migraine, tension-type headaches, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia and other primary headaches) or secondary (e.g. post-traumatic). Non-febrile, non-traumatic headaches represent 1% of all paediatric emergency departments (PED) visits. Many patients present with an acute, moderate to severe pain, sometimes with a sudden onset. Sudden onset headache can be the main symptom of life-threatening neurological conditions as well as a sign of primary headaches such as thunderclap or stabbing headaches. This review aims to describe the presentation of sudden primary headaches in children, in order to help the physician to provide effective management in the emergency setting.

Acute Facial Nerve Palsy in Children: Gold Standard Management.

Facial nerve palsy (FNP) is a common illness in the paediatric emergency department. Missed or delayed diagnosis can have a serious impact on a patient's quality of life. The aim of this article is to give a recent overview of this pathology in terms of the causes, diagnosis, red flag symptoms, complementary examinations, treatments and follow-up in the child population. In cases of acquired, acute onset and isolated FNP, Bell's palsy can be assumed, and no further investigation is required. In any other scenario, complementary examinations are required. Treatment depends on the aetiology. Corticosteroids, in addition to antiviral medication, are recommended to treat Bell's palsy whenever a viral infection is suspected. However, the lack of randomised control trials in the paediatric population does not allow us to comment on the effectiveness of these treatments. In all cases, treated or not, children have a very good recovery rate. This review emphasises the necessity of randomised control trials concerning this frequent neurological pathology in order to better treat these children.

The association between gastro-oesophageal reflux and migraine in the paediatric population: a multicentre case-control study.

Infantile regurgitation is one of the most common discomforts in the first months of life. Infantile colic and, in older children, functional dyspepsia have been linked to migraine. To date, this is the first study to investigate a possible association between infantile regurgitation and primary headaches in children. This is a case-control study of 195 children aged 6-17 years, with primary headache (migraine, or tension type headache) in 5 European paediatric hospitals. The control group is composed of 240 same-aged children attending with minor injuries during the same period - February 1st 2020 to December 1st 2020. A structured questionnaire identified a history of infantile regurgitation and other functional gastrointestinal disorders for case and control participants. The outcome was the difference in the prevalence of infantile regurgitation among children with or without a diagnosis of primary headache. The analysis showed a significant association between infantile regurgitation and migraine (OR = 1.88, CI 95 = 1.01-3.4, p = 0.04). No association was found between infantile regurgitation and tension type headache (p = 0.33). Subgroup analysis confirmed that the association was only significant for migraine without aura (OR = 2.3, CI 95 = 1.2-4.4, p = 0.01). In a further subgroup analysis, the presence of functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome and abdominal migraine was associated with migraine without aura. CONCLUSION: The presence of migraine among children aged 6-17 was associated with a history of infantile regurgitation. Additional longitudinal studies are required to confirm whether infantile regurgitation could be considered as a precursor of migraine. WHAT IS KNOWN: • Children suffering from functional gastrointestinal disorders are more likely to be suffering from migraine and tension-type headache as well. • Children suffering from primary headache are more likely to have had infantile colic in their first six month of life. WHAT IS NEW: • It is the first study to find an association between migraine and infantile regurgitation in children. • These findings could have an impact on the diagnosis and therapeutics of both migraine and infantile regurgitation.

Brain to Belly: Abdominal Variants of Migraine and Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders Associated With Migraine.

Migraine is one of the most frequent causes of primary headache and 9% of children suffer from migraines. Most children will continue to experience migraine attacks as adults, therefore it is imperative that we have a thorough understanding of this major health issue. This article considers the so-called abdominal variants of migraine, which are more commonly seen in children rather than adults: abdominal migraine, cyclic vomiting syndrome, and infantile colic. Other functional abdominal pain disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia have also been linked to migraine in clinical studies. The common pathophysiological root of these diseases seems to be the gut-brain axis mechanism. Abdominal variants of migraine are considered pediatric precursors of migraine whereas the functional abdominal pain disorders related to migraine seem to share a pathophysiological root with no temporarily link as for today. In this review we aim to describe the epidemiological background, the current pathophysiological theories and the relationship of each disease to migraine. This review is the first to compile abdominal variants of migraine and functional abdominal pain disorders associated with migraine and we endeavor to elucidate the broad spectrum of migraine-related episodes in children.

Viewpoint: adapting to new international tuberculosis treatment standards with medication monitors and DOT given selectively.

New international standards no longer require directly observed therapy for all tuberculosis (TB) patients, but state that practitioners must be capable of assessing adherence and addressing poor adherence. Mass-produced electronic medication monitors, which record removal of medication from a container, could help overcome the problem of assessing treatment adherence accurately even in poor countries. Both health facilities and community workers could dispense drugs for self-administered treatment in medication monitors and retrieve the adherence record with inexpensive built-in displays. These devices could keep the adherence record from the beginning of therapy for managing patients who move. Pharmacists using medication monitors could provide surveillance of self-administered treatment prescribed by private physicians with less adherent patients referred to the health departments. Less adherent patients could be managed with focused counselling, directly observed therapy when necessary, and extensions in treatment duration. Removal of the directly observed therapy burden would encourage patients to seek free high-quality supervised pubic care and help expand effective TB treatment services. If resources saved by giving less directly observed therapy were focused on poorly adherent patients, medication monitor-based programmes could create less acquired drug resistance than overwhelmed treatment programmes that attempt but fail to give uninterrupted directly observed therapy to all patients.