{"title":"Cluster Headache in Children: Current Status, Diagnostic and Treatment Challenges and Future.","authors":"Hong Yang, WeiHong Liu, QiuYang Zou, DeJiang Li","doi":"10.1007/s11916-025-01403-1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose of review: </strong>This review aims to summarize the current understanding of cluster headaches (CH) in children, focusing on epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, diagnostic challenges, treatment strategies, and future research directions.</p><p><strong>Recent findings: </strong>Cluster headaches in children are infrequent, with an incidence that appears to be significantly lower than that observed in adults, highlighting the need for more comprehensive studies. Pediatric patients often present with atypical symptoms, such as shorter pain duration and less pronounced autonomic features, leading to frequent misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. The hypothalamus plays a central role in the pathophysiology of CH, involving circadian rhythm disturbances, trigeminal nerve-vascular activation, and autonomic dysfunction. High-flow oxygen and triptan medications are effective for acute treatment in adults, but their safety and efficacy in children require further validation. Preventive treatments, such as verapamil, are used cautiously in pediatric patients, with close monitoring for side effects. Non-pharmacological interventions, including lifestyle adjustments and psychological support, are critical for long-term management. Cluster headaches in children are a rare but debilitating condition that poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Current diagnostic criteria, primarily based on adult data, may not fully capture the unique clinical features of pediatric patients, leading to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis. Treatment strategies are largely extrapolated from adult studies, with limited evidence-based data for children. Future research should focus on improving diagnostic criteria, exploring pediatric-specific pathophysiological mechanisms, and validating safe and effective treatment options. Early identification and intervention are essential to improving the quality of life and long-term outcomes for pediatric patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":50602,"journal":{"name":"Current Pain and Headache Reports","volume":"29 1","pages":"91"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Current Pain and Headache Reports","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-025-01403-1","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose of review: This review aims to summarize the current understanding of cluster headaches (CH) in children, focusing on epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, diagnostic challenges, treatment strategies, and future research directions.
Recent findings: Cluster headaches in children are infrequent, with an incidence that appears to be significantly lower than that observed in adults, highlighting the need for more comprehensive studies. Pediatric patients often present with atypical symptoms, such as shorter pain duration and less pronounced autonomic features, leading to frequent misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. The hypothalamus plays a central role in the pathophysiology of CH, involving circadian rhythm disturbances, trigeminal nerve-vascular activation, and autonomic dysfunction. High-flow oxygen and triptan medications are effective for acute treatment in adults, but their safety and efficacy in children require further validation. Preventive treatments, such as verapamil, are used cautiously in pediatric patients, with close monitoring for side effects. Non-pharmacological interventions, including lifestyle adjustments and psychological support, are critical for long-term management. Cluster headaches in children are a rare but debilitating condition that poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Current diagnostic criteria, primarily based on adult data, may not fully capture the unique clinical features of pediatric patients, leading to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis. Treatment strategies are largely extrapolated from adult studies, with limited evidence-based data for children. Future research should focus on improving diagnostic criteria, exploring pediatric-specific pathophysiological mechanisms, and validating safe and effective treatment options. Early identification and intervention are essential to improving the quality of life and long-term outcomes for pediatric patients.
期刊介绍：
This journal aims to review the most important, recently published clinical findings regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and management of pain and headache. By providing clear, insightful, balanced contributions by international experts, the journal intends to serve all those involved in the care and prevention of pain and headache.
We accomplish this aim by appointing international authorities to serve as Section Editors in key subject areas, such as anesthetic techniques in pain management, cluster headache, neuropathic pain, and migraine. Section Editors, in turn, select topics for which leading experts contribute comprehensive review articles that emphasize new developments and recently published papers of major importance, highlighted by annotated reference lists. An international Editorial Board reviews the annual table of contents, suggests articles of special interest to their country/region, and ensures that topics are current and include emerging research. Commentaries from well-known figures in the field are also provided.
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