Headaches are a common reason for visiting neurology clinics. They have their origin in a variety of causes and their specific diagnosis deteriorates as it overlaps with other chronic painful pathologies. Somatic functional syndromes are characterised by chronic painful conditions that have a negative effect on quality of life, and are accompanied by functional symptoms with no organic cause.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of functional symptoms in patients who visited due to headaches.
The sample included all the patients who visited the walk-in neurology clinic because of headaches between March and September 2014. A semi-structured survey was carried out in order to evaluate obsessive personality traits, bruxism, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders.
During the period under study, 125 patients visited due to headache. In all, 68.7% of patients with migraine presented functional symptoms and only 32.7% in the case of other headaches (p = 0.0001).
Cefalea y sintomas funcionales.
Introduccion. Las cefaleas constituyen un motivo de consulta frecuente en los consultorios neurologicos, sus causas puede ser variadas y su diagnostico concreto se empobrece al superponerse con otras patologias dolorosas cronicas. Los sindromes funcionales somaticos se caracterizan por cuadros de dolor cronico que califican en forma negativa la calidad de vida, acompanados de sintomas funcionales sin causa organica. Objetivo. Evaluar la prevalencia de sintomas funcionales en pacientes que consultaron por cefaleas. Pacientes y metodos. Se incorporo a todos los pacientes que consultaron por cefaleas en el consultorio de demanda espontanea de neurologia entre marzo y septiembre de 2014. Se realizo una encuesta semiestructurada para evaluar rasgos de personalidad obsesiva, bruxismo, sintomas gastrointestinales, ansiedad, depresion y trastornos del sueno. Resultados. Durante el periodo de estudio, consultaron por cefalea 125 pacientes. El 68,7% de los pacientes con migrana presento sintomas funcionales, y solo el 32,7% de otras cefaleas (p = 0,0001). Conclusion. Los sintomas funcionales fueron prevalentes en los pacientes con cefalea, principalmente en las migranas.
Functional symptoms were prevalent in patients with headache, mainly in those with migraine.