Drug Withdrawal Headache Clinical Trial
Official title:
Factors Associated With the Presence of Postoperative Headache in Elective Surgery Patients: a Prospective Single Center Cohort Study
To evaluate the association of anaesthesia and surgery with postoperative headache in elective surgery patients By multiple logistic regression analysis of data collected during a six-month period from 446 patients undergoing elective surgery, a prospective single centre cohort study in a university hospital. Participants were interviewed preoperatively and for five days postoperatively regarding the appearance of headache; while demographics, life style, type of anaesthesia and surgery, the anaesthetic drugs administered and intraoperative adverse effects in elective surgery patients are recorded.
A dedicated team interviewed patients preoperatively and during the first five postoperative
days and collected data regarding medical history, surgery, anaesthesia and the presence of
postoperative headache by manual record review. The frequency of preoperative headache was
assessed by asking the subjects on the appearance or not of headache within the last year.
Additional information were obtained to distinguish migraine which was deemed present only
when the participants reported two or more of the following specific symptoms supporting
this diagnosis as proposed by the International Headache Society; episodic headache (4-72
hours) with the following features: moderate or severe throbbing pain, worsened by movement,
associated with nausea/vomiting, photophobia or phonophobia, with or without visual aura.
Specifically, preoperative data included patients' demographics, marital status, life-style
and habits, as caffeine consumption (>200 mg/day or >2 cups of coffee/day), alcohol (drink
equivalent > 15ml absolute alcohol) and tobacco consumption, previous experience or/and
family history of headache. Intraoperative data included the type of anaesthesia (general,
regional anaesthesia or their combination); anaesthetic drugs used; type and duration of
surgery; intraoperative patients' position; and intraoperative adverse events including
hypotension (decrease >20% from baseline), hypertension (increase >20% from baseline),
hypercarbia (PaCO2 >6 kPa) and hypoxia (SpO2 <90%). Noticeably, the choice of anaesthetic
technique and postoperative management were determined by the engaged anaesthesiologist.
Postoperative headache was defined as a dichotomous variable (i.e. present or not present)
by asking the participants twice daily for the first five days (or less if discharged
earlier) after anaesthesia and surgery.
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Observational Model: Cohort, Time Perspective: Prospective