Chronic Cluster Headache with a Pediatric Onset: The First Japanese Case Report

Intern Med. 2020 Nov 15;59(22):2937-2940. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.5207-20. Epub 2020 Jul 28.

Abstract

A 9-year-old female reported left-sided, excruciatingly severe, stabbing orbital pain with cranial autonomic symptoms. The attacks continued for 1 year with a remission period of 2 months. Each attack duration was approximately 120 minutes with a frequency of two to three times a day. The patient was diagnosed with chronic cluster headache (CCH) according to the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. A combination of low-dose verapamil and lomerizine once a week decreased the frequency of the attacks, and oral sumatriptan became an effective abortive therapy. No case reports of pediatric CCH have been previously published in Japan.

Keywords: chronic cluster headache; lomerizine; oral sumatriptan; pediatric onset; prophylactic therapy; verapamil.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Cluster Headache* / diagnosis
  • Cluster Headache* / drug therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Sumatriptan
  • Verapamil / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Sumatriptan
  • Verapamil