Occipital Headaches in Children: Are They a Red Flag?

Abstract

Occipital headache is considered a risk factor for serious secondary headache pathology. The purpose of our study was to assess the etiology of occipital headaches among children visiting the emergency department. Subjects were children aged 5 to 18 years who were referred to the emergency department due to headaches during the years 2013 to 2014. A total of 314 patients with headaches were seen at our emergency department. Thirty-nine patients had occipital headaches. Viral infections were the most prevalent final diagnosis (97; 31%), followed by migraine (37; 11.8%). None of our patients had a brain tumor. There was no difference in final diagnosis between the occipital and nonoccipital groups. The most common causes of occipital headaches are viral infections and primary headaches. Serious intracranial disorders presenting solely as occipital headaches and not accompanied by other neurologic signs are uncommon. Thus, occipital headaches should be evaluated in the same manner as other headache locations.