Abstract
New daily–persistent headache is a relatively uncommon type of chronic daily headache. The critical features of the original description and the subsequent Silberstein-Lipton description was the onset: daily headache starts abruptly without a background of frequent or worsening headache. In 2004, the International Headache Society classification committee excluded an abundance of migrainous features. The exclusion of patients with too many migrainous features from the International Headache Society classification was contentious from the onset and is a source of consternation for many headache experts. Many contend that the sudden onset of a daily headache raises the same issue of what turned on the headache, irrespective of the headache features. Switch-related questions about predisposing factors or precipitating events are equally valid regardless of how many migrainous features the patient has. The differential diagnosis, treatment response, or prognoses do not vary by the number of migrainous features. The current International Headache Society definition excludes more than half of patients with new onset of daily headache. This exclusion due to migrainous features could have adverse scientific, diagnostic, and treatment consequences.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance, •• Of major importance
Vanast WJ: New daily persistent headaches: definition of a benign syndrome. Headache 1986, 26:317
Silberstein SD, Lipton RB, Solomon S, et al: Classification of daily and near daily headaches: proposed revisions to the IHS classification. Headache 1994, 34:1–7.
Grande RB, Aaseth K, Lundqvist C, et al: Prevalence of new daily persistent headache in the general population. The Akershus study of chronic headache. Cephalalgia 2009, 29:1149–1155.
Bigal ME, Lipton RB, Tepper SJ, et al: Primary chronic daily headache and its subtypes in adolescents and adults. Neurology 2004, 14:843–847.
Takase Y, Nakano M, Tatsumi C, et al: Clinical features, effectiveness of drug-based treatment, and prognosis of new daily persistent headache (NDPH): 30 cases in Japan. Cephalalgia 2004, 24:955–959.
• Kung E, Tepper SJ, Rapoport AM, et al: New daily persistent headache in the pediatric population. Cephalalgia 2009, 29:17–22. This is a nice case series of patients with NDPH using nonexclusionary diagnostic criteria showing abundant migrainous features.
Bigal ME, Rapoport AM, Tepper SJ, et al: The classification of chronic daily headache in adolescents—a comparison between the second edition of the international classification of headache disorders and alternative diagnostic criteria. Headache 2005, 45:582–589.
Headache Classification Committee: The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition. Cephalalgia 2004, 24:1–160.
Mack KJ: New daily persistent headache in children and adults. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2009, 13:47–51.
Chakravarty A: Chronic daily headache in children and adolescents: a clinic based study from India. Cephalalgia 2005, 25:795–800.
•• Prakash S, Shah ND: Postinfectious new daily persistent headache may respond to intravenous methylprednisolone. J Headache Pain 2010, 11:59–66. This is a small case series suggesting in some cases, NDPH, if caught early, may respond to aggressive steroid treatment. Because a controlled trial is unlikely, this probably will become a usual treatment.
•• Robbins MS, Grosberg BM, Napchan U, et al: Clinical and prognostic subforms of new daily-persistent headache. Neurology 2010, 74:1358–1364. This is a careful analysis of a cohort of patients with rapid onset daily headache (NDPH using Silberstein-Lipton criteria) that fails to identify a basis for the ICHD-II feature-based criteria.
Rozen TD, Roth JM, Denenberg N: Cervical spine joint hypermobility: a possible predisposing factor for new daily persistent headache. Cephalalgia 2006, 26:1182–1185.
Donnet A, Levrier O: A consecutive series of ten cases of new daily persistent headache: clinical presentation and morphology of the venous system. Neurology 2009, 72:A419
Mack KJ: What incites new daily persistent headache in children? Pediatr Neurol 2004, 31:122–125.
Meineri P, Torre E, Rota E, et al: New daily persistent headache: clinical and serological characteristics in a retrospective study. Neurol Sci 2004, 25 Suppl 3:S281–S282
Rozen TD: Doxycycline for treatment resistant new daily persistent headache. Headache 2010, 48:S49
Rozen T, Swidan SZ: Elevation of CSF tumor necrosis factor alpha levels in new daily persistent headache and treatment refractory chronic migraine. Headache 2007, 47:1050–1055.
Evans RW: New daily persistent headache. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2003, 7:303–307.
Disclosures
Dr. William Young has served on the speaker’s bureau for Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, Iroko Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Co., Zogenix, Inc., and Astellas Pharma; has served as a consultant for Allergan; has served on the advisory board for Iroko Pharmaceuticals and Merck and Co.; and has received research support from AGA Medical, Advanced Bionics, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc., Allergan, Capnia, Inc., Chorus, Eli Lilly and Company, Endo Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, MAP Pharmaceuticals, Medtronic, Minster Pharmaceuticals, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/National Institutes of Health.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Young, W.B. New Daily Persistent Headache: Controversy in the Diagnostic Criteria. Curr Pain Headache Rep 15, 47–50 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-010-0160-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-010-0160-4