Headache in COVID-19 and Long COVID: to Know Facts for Clinical Practice

Purpose of Review Headache is one of the most frequent symptoms of the acute and post-acute phase of COVID-19. Specific epidemiology, clinical features, risk factors, pathophysiology, and treatment have been reported in these two scenarios. With this narrative review of the literature, we aim to pro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current neurology and neuroscience reports 2023-10, Vol.23 (10), p.551-560
Main Authors: Gómez-Dabó, Laura, Melgarejo-Martínez, Laura, Caronna, Edoardo, Pozo-Rosich, Patricia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical medicine
COVID-19
Epidemiology
Headache
Headaches
Literature reviews
Long COVID
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurology
Neurosciences
Patients
Risk factors
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Topical Collection on Headache
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose of Review Headache is one of the most frequent symptoms of the acute and post-acute phase of COVID-19. Specific epidemiology, clinical features, risk factors, pathophysiology, and treatment have been reported in these two scenarios. With this narrative review of the literature, we aim to provide updated knowledge on headache in the COVID-19 setting and give clinicians a practical approach on this topic to guide them in their clinical practice. Recent Findings Headache mechanisms in COVID-19 are still poorly understood. Strong evidence is also lacking on how to best treat and manage these patients, especially those with persistent and disabling headache after COVID-19. Data are also scarce on the characteristics of headache in COVID-19 caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 (Omicron) variants and how these may influence the acute and persistent symptoms of COVID-19. Patients with pre-existing primary headache disorders remain a particularly concerning population due to their biological predisposition in suffering from headaches and the potential risk of worsening in the setting of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Summary Although there is an exponential growth of scientific evidence, studies are often controversial and focused on the first wave of the pandemic, making COVID-19 headache still a challenging matter for clinicians. New research is therefore needed.
ISSN:1528-4042
1534-6293
DOI:10.1007/s11910-023-01296-w