European journal of pediatric surgery : official journal of Austrian Association of Pediatric Surgery ... [et al] = Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie
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Report of chronic headache amongst children with shunted hydrocephalus is frequent, and often leads to investigation for raised intra-cranial pressure and shunt malfunction, and much debate has appeared in the literature concerning possible cause. However headache is a common neurological symptom amongst children, and studies of prevalence indicate incidence of frequent non-migrainous headache to be 6.8%, and migrainous headache 4% in the general child population. A relationship between stress and anxiety and headache is recognised, and the hydrocephalic child has many reasons above those of his/her peers to be subject to stress. ⋯ Headache was not found to be related to diagnosis associated with hydrocephalus, to presence of seizure disorder, or to the sex of the child, although in common with other studies, there was a strong trend towards girls being statistically more likely to experience headache than boys. There was a relationship however between report of chronic headache, and the sort of school a child was likely to attend; children who attended mainstream school without the support of a Statement of Special Educational Need were more likely to report headache than their peers, and it is hypothesised that these children may be suffering sufficient stress to contribute to maintenance of headache. The importance of the multi-disciplinary team in assessment of children's physical, intellectual and emotional status is stressed, in order that medical interventions have the greatest chance of success.