Headaches in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: preliminary results of a national survey

Abstract

Background: Headache in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is a largely discussed topic being divided into a pre-infection headache, headache attributed to COVID-19 infection, and post-COVID headache. The aim of the research was to analyze the evolution of headache syndrome in patients who have experienced COVID-19 infection. Material and methods: An online survey was conducted in people with COVID-19 and headache using a validated and ethically approved questionnaire and data were collected for 3 months (February - May 2021) on demographics, comorbidities, clinical signs of COVID-19 infection, headache before, during, and after COVID-19 infection, signs of anxiety, depression and sleep disorders. Results: The study showed that half of the respondents had different forms of headache before the COVID-19 infection. During the period of infection with Sars-Cov-2 – 91% of respondents experienced headaches attributed to COVID-19, which were intense, generalized, associated with vertigo, nausea, autonomic signs, pronounced asthenia (80%), and pain with another localization (85.5%). Persistent headaches after COVID-19 were reported by 62.7% of respondents and 16.7% of them – severe forms. Conclusions: The headache attributed to COVID-19 infection was prevalent in the presented group being intense and associated with pronounced asthenia. The percentage of patients with persistent headaches in the post-COVID period is worryingly high which increases the degree of functional disability of patients, individual and social burden.