Chronic daily headache in children and adolescents: current status and recommendations for the future. Pediatric Committee of the American Association for the Study of Headache.

ABSTRACT

The Pediatric Committee of the American Association for the Study of Headache was created in 1994 to develop a plan for comprehensively addressing global issues of headache in childhood. It was the impression of clinicians and researchers with an interest in childhood headaches that a clearer focus was needed to facilitate progress in the study and management of pediatric headache. It was further felt that approaches to treatment and outcomes, as well as assessment and classification schema for pediatric patients needed to be examined separately. The goal of the committee is to integrate anecdotal, clinical, and research expertise into a plan for addressing headaches in the pediatric population in the future. During the last 5 years, substantial attention has been devoted to chronic daily headache, primarily in adult populations. It is the purpose of this paper to review the literature of chronic daily headache in children, and propose areas for further exploration, given the recent emergence of interest in this diagnostic entity.