Table 5.
Studies of headache prevalence
| Study | Timing and type of headache studied | Prevalence of headache (%) | Pain-assessment tool for headache | Pain-intensity results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alessandri et al78 | HDH (IHS 2004 criteria) | HDH: 50 | Not described in methods | Most patients had mild or moderate severity of pain |
| Al-Hilali et al33 | Intradialytic symptoms, including headache; baseline measure was used for this study | H: 37.5 (before the intervention) | Not measured | NA |
| André et al21 | Intradialysis symptoms during last 6 months, including headache | H: 13 | Not measured | NA |
| Antoniazzi et al39 | All patients had headaches strictly related to HD sessions (IHS 1988 criteria) | H: 70.7 HDH: 68 (in the second half of HD: 86) |
Not measured | NA |
| Antoniazzi et al48 | All types of headache; HDH (IHS 1988 criteria) | H: 70.7 (during HD: 57.5) HDH: 28 |
Not measured | NA |
| Antoniazzi et al49 | All types of headache; HDH (IHS 1988 criteria) | HDH: 21.2 | Not measured | NA |
| Bana et al72 | All types of headache during HD | H: 70 | Descriptive measure of headache severity | An average of 6 headache units per dialysis |
| Barrett et al79 | Somatic symptoms in HD patients, including headache (time recall for pain unclear) | H: 45 | Perception of symptom severity | Mentioned in methods, but results not reported |
| Binik et al61 | All types of pain on and off dialysis, including headache | On HD: 62.3 Off HD: 43 Reported by post-Tx: 66.7 |
MPQ | On HD 6.2 Off HD 7 |
| Bouattar et al36 | Chronic pain of all types, including headache | H: 11.8 | Descriptive verbal scale | Low 3% Moderate 41% Severe 44% Very severe 12% |
| Calls et al43 | Intradialytic and chronic pain, including headache | IH: 31.5 CH: 6.2 |
Not measured | NA |
| Caplin et al60 | Symptoms specifically experienced during the HD session, including headache | IH: 53.6 | Not measured | NA |
| Caplin et al34 | All symptoms specifically experienced during the HD session | IH: 56 | Not measured | NA |
| Jesus et al51 | All types of headache; HDH (IHS 2004 criteria) | H: 76.1 HDH: 6.7 |
VAS | Moderate 63.6% VAS ≥8 (severe) 36.4% |
| Djurić et al41 | All types of headache; HDH (IHS 2004 criteria) | H: 19 HDH: 5.6 |
VAS | VAS <8 (severe) 87.5% |
| Gamondi et al87 | Pain duration, intensity, perception, and localization in patients reporting pain during the 4 weeks before the interview | H: 31 | Not measured | NA |
| Goksan et al88 | All patients HDH (IHS 1988 and 2003 criteria) | HDH: 48 | Descriptive scale for intensity of headache | Moderate 73% Severe 27% Very severe 87% |
| Goksel et al59 | Prevalence of all types of headache; further studies, only patients with headache experiences during HD sessions and in the 72 hours after a session; IHS 2004 criteria | HDH: 30 | VAS | Mean ± SD 6.06±2.4 |
| Golan et al52 | Chronic pain (lasting 3 months and more), including headache | CH: 54.9 | Not measured | NA |
| Milinković et al58 | All types of headache; HDH (IHS 2004 criteria) | HDH: 6.6 | VAS | Severe (VAS >8) 52% |
| Nikić et al42 | All types of headache; HDH (IHS 2004 criteria) | H: 32.5 HDH: 34 |
VAS | Mild 14.3% Moderate 50% Severe (VAS >8) 35.7% |
| Parfrey et al93 | Nonspecific symptoms experienced in dialysis patients, including headache | H: 41 (during or just after HD 56) | Not reported for HD patients separately | NA |
| Rodriguez Calero et al47 | Intradialytic and chronic pain, including headache | IH: 31.5 CH: 6.2 |
Not measured | NA |
| Weisbord et al95 | Physical and emotional symptoms in maintenance-HD patients, including headache | H: 19 | DSI | Mean 3.03 |
Abbreviations: CH, chronic headache; DSI, Dialysis Symptom Index; H, headache; HD, hemodialysis; HDH, HD headache; IH, intradialytic headache; IHS, International Headache Society; MPQ, McGill Pain Questionnaire; NA, not applicable; Tx, transplant; VAS, visual analog scale.