Headache and Facial Pain

Patients with headache pose many clinical challenges. Even experienced clinicians occasionally arrive at the point where diagnostic, work-up, treatment, or prognostic thinking becomes blocked. In short, we all find ourselves from time to time in an exam room or at the bedside, asking ourselves, "What do I do now?" Standard textbooks are often not helpful enough, and tracking down a consultant can be difficult. This book serves the need for a quick reference tool for these difficult headache clinical questions. In this book, nationally known headache specialists Drs Lawrence Newman and Morris Levin have simulated the "curbside consultation" in a representative set of 33 "mini-cases" of headache and facial pain. The key questions in each are addressed, much as a consultant would do over the phone or in the hallway. This volume is divided into three sections that cover the typical ground for head/face pain consultation: (1) Diagnostic Questions, (2) Treatment Considerations, and (3) Prognostic, Social and Legal Issues. Recommendations are based on the most current evidence available. Diagnostic thinking is presented along the lines of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition (ICHD-II). A list of key clinical points appears at the end of each case discussion, followed by a list of suggested articles or chapters for those interested in doing further reading on the subject. Tables are provided for quick reference in most chapters. This book is designed as a very practical resource for clinicians at all levels of training in all fields of medicine who treat patients with headache and facial pain syndromes. WDIDN-Headache and Facial Pain focuses on the major motivating force driving most clinicians — the intellectual challenge of sorting through complex important clinical problems.