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Nose and headache: what have we learned?

Naso e cefalee: cosa abbiamo imparato

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Abstract

Sinonasal involvement in secondary headache has long been interpreted as sinusitis and overestimation has been a problem in the past. In the last 20 years, the innovative interpretation of contact points between the lateral nasal wall and the septum as triggering cause of facial pain via the trigeminovascular system has gained importance in nasal secondary headaches. Also in this case, the prevalence and relevance has been misinterpreted in the beginning, undermining the success rate of pain improvement after surgical removal of these contact points. Therefore, studies have started to concentrate on the need of suitable preoperative evaluation to define the ideal, responsive candidate for surgical management of this form of headache. This article analyzes the outcome of these studies and tries to highlight the need for long-term follow-up to finally determine the relevance of surgical treatment for this particular headache form.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Department, San Paolo Hospital, University of Milan, Via di Rudinì, 8, 20142, Milan, Italy

    Carlotta Pipolo, Sara Portaleone & Giovanni Felisati

Authors
  1. Carlotta Pipolo
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  2. Sara Portaleone
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  3. Giovanni Felisati
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Correspondence to Giovanni Felisati.

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Pipolo, C., Portaleone, S. & Felisati, G. Nose and headache: what have we learned?. Neurol Sci 32 (Suppl 1), 131–133 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-011-0531-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-011-0531-6

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