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Book Review: Headache

Therapeutic Area: Headaches Format: This 287-page, soft-cover book contains 13 chapters and 5 appendices. It is part of the 6-book American College of Physicians Key Diseases series. Purpose and Audience: This book is written to be a quick reference guide for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in distinguishing and treating primary versus secondary headaches. Healthcare professionals in ambulatory clinics and students enrolled in courses discussing neurologic diseases would benefit from purchasing this book. Content: The text is well organized, relatively up-to-date, and inclusive. Chapter 1 provides an overview of various headache disorders often encountered by primary care physicians. Chapter 2 reviews the steps for diagnosing headaches. Chapter 3 presents an organized approach to help practitioners evaluate dangerous causes of secondary headaches that require specialized treatment such as brain tumors, cerebrovascular accidents, vasculitis, and infectious conditions. Chapters 4–7 review the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of migraine, tension, cluster, and daily headaches. Chapter 8 defines and describes the treatment of less serious secondary headaches such as cough, hypnic, or hemicrania continua headaches, as well as headaches associated with food, obesity, low cerebral spinal fluid, head/neck disorders and trauma, or systemic illness. Chapters 9–11 discuss the treatment of headaches in special populations such as women, children, and the elderly. Chapter 12 nicely summarizes the safety and efficacy of various complementary and nonpharmacologic therapies, but does not provide specific details on their role as part of a comprehensive treatment program. Chapter 13 describes the headache patient’s personality type. Specific patient management strategies are described such as setting up treatment agreements and limits, conveying empathy, and using various behavioral techniques. Usability: Healthcare professionals can quickly browse through the reader-friendly book and pick up key points regarding the diagnosis and treatment of headache. Highlights: There are 16 contributors, most of whom appear to work in headache clinics. Five excellent appendices provide the International Headache Society 2004 Diagnostic Classification, additional informative resources, headache calendars, diaries, and questionnaires. The tables and figures also help clinicians quickly find the information they need. Limitations: Although treatment information is summarized in tables, more detail concerning how to choose the best agent and monitor treatment could have been included. As this is an introductory-level book, there is little discussion of therapeutic controversies. In addition, the authors provide a table containing Food and Drug Administration pregnancy risk category, but do not add their recommendations for the treatment of headaches in women. Lastly, a key reference by Olesen et al. (The Headaches) is omitted from the recommended reading list. Comparison to Other Related Books: While there are numerous softcover books examining migraine headache and specific headache-related issues, there are few books differentiating and reviewing the treatment of all headaches. This book is reasonably priced compared with the leading hardcover textbooks on the topic and is quicker to read. Reviewer’s Summary: Currently, headaches are inadequately diagnosed and treated. Improved education may result in earlier identification, treatment, and control of headaches, thus improving patient outcomes. The book provides a quick overview of treatment, but readers should access the material in the recommended reading list to maximize their knowledge. Reviewer: Mary L Wagner PharmD MS, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ