A cluster headache can be diagnosed when certain clinical features are present.
Criteria - all of the following:
(1) severe, unilateral pain lasting 15-180 minutes if untreated and located at one or more of the following regions:
(1a) orbital
(1b) supraorbital
(1c) temporal
(2) one or more of the following is/are associated with the headache and on the same side:
(2a) conjunctival injection
(2b) lacrimation
(2c) nasal congestion
(2d) rhinorrhea
(2e) forehead and facial sweating
(2f) miosis
(2g) ptosis
(2h) eyelid edema
(3) at least 5 attacks fulfilling the criteria listed above
(4) frequency of attacks ranges from 1 every other day to 8 per day
(5) one of the following:
(5a) There are no other headache disorders that could explain the findings.
(5b) If the patient is at risk for a secondary headache, then there is evidence (history, physical examination, neurologic examination) that these are not causing the cluster headache.
(5c) If the patient does have a headache secondary to another cause, then the cluster headache does not occur for the first time in close temporal relation to that disorder.
where:
• The definition for the fifth criteria refers to headaches in groups "5-11", which is based on the listing of headache conditions in the article. These are: head trauma, vascular disorder, nonvascular intracranial disorder, substance withdrawal, non-cephalic infection, metabolic disorder, and physical disorder of head and neck.
Specialty: Neurology