Guidelines for telematic second opinion consultation in headaches in Europe: on behalf of the European Headache Federation

The seeking of a second opinion is the long-established process whereby a physician or expert from the same or a similar specialty is invited to assess a clinical case in order to confirm or reject a diagnosis or treatment plan. Seeking a second opinion has become more common in recent years, and the trend is associated with significant changes in the patient-doctor relationship. Telemedicine is attractive because it is not only fast but also affordable and thus makes it possible to reach highly qualified centres and experts that would otherwise be inaccessible, being impossible, or too expensive, to reach by any surface transport. In Europe, the European Headache Federation (EHF), being able to draw on a group of headache experts covering all the European languages, is the organisation best placed to provide qualified second-opinion consultation on difficult headache cases and to develop a Headache Medical Opinion Service Centre. The provision of good quality clinical information is crucial to the formulation of a valid, expert second opinion. This preliminary step can be properly accomplished only by the primary health care provider through the furnishing of an appropriate clinical report, together with the results of all available tests, including original films of all imaging studies already performed. On receiving the EHF's proposed standardised data collection form, properly filled in, we may be sure that we have all the relevant data necessary to formulate a valid expert second opinion. This form can be accessed electronically and downloaded from the EHF website. Once finalised, the EHF second opinion project should be treated as a pilot strategy that requires careful monitoring (for the first year at least), so that appropriate changes, as suggested by the retrospective analysis and its quality control, can be implemented

Cervicogenic headache. Pupillometric findings

Eleven female patients with cervicogenic headache (mean age, 43 years; range, 25-59 years) have been examined with the pupillometer. The pupillary diameter was examined in the basal state (that is, the status before pharmacologic stimulation) and after topically administered tyramine (2%), phenylephrine (1%), and hydroxyamphetamine (1%). A total of 51 tests were performed, 35 in the asymptomatic period and 16 during pain attacks. In a control group consisting of 26 age-matched women a total of 39 tests were carried out. Before pharmacologic stimulation (that is, in the "basal state") the pupils were smaller in the asymptomatic (pain-free) period than during pain attacks in the patients and also as compared with that of control individuals. The anisocoria (the difference in pupillary size in the same individual) observed was not significantly different between the patient group and control individuals either in the basal state (before pharmacologic stimulation) or after pharmacologic stimulation. The mydriasis resulting from the instillation of the three sympathicomimetic drugs was symmetrical in both controls and patients both during and between the pain attacks. This finding is in clear contrast to what is found in cluster headache, in which there is a "Horner-like" syndrome on the symptomatic side. These two headaches thus seem to differ essentially with regard to this variable

Cluster headache pathogenesis. a pupillometric study

Thirty-two cluster headache patients and healthy controls (n = 16-20 for the various tests) were examined by means of a Whitaker pupillometer during pain-free intervals. Eye drops of the sympathomimetic agents tyramine, hydroxyamphetamine, and phenylephrine were instilled into the conjunctival sacs on separate occasions, and pupillary diameters recorded at standard time intervals. The mydriatic responses of the two pupils were compared. A moderate, but statistically significant, basal relative miosis was found on the pain side in cluster headache. The symptomatic-side pupils were less responsive than their counterparts when stimulated with tyramine and hydroxyamphetamine, the difference being statistically significant for the OH-amphetamine test. With the phenylephrine test, however, the mydriasis on the symptomatic side significantly exceeded that of the contralateral pupil. This pattern of reactions does not quite correspond to those of "ordinary" Horner's syndrome (1st, 2nd, and 3rd neuron lesion). There are, however, gross similarities with the recently reported pattern in central sympathetic neuron dysfunction. In cluster headache there is probably a "Horner-like picture" rather than a proper Horner's syndrome

Electronic pupillometry in healthy controls. Response to symphaticomimetics.

The ocular sympathetic function was examined in 79 healthy volunteers (37 males and 42 females) by electronic pupillography. Pupillary diameters were first estimated under standard light conditions prior to drug application, these diameters being termed "basal values". Then, the pupils were stimulated pharmacologically by instillation of various sympathicomimetic drugs: tyramine tests were carried out in 42 individuals (24 females; 18 males), hydroxyamphetamine tests in 38 (22 females and 16 males), and phenylephrine tests in 43 individuals (23 females and 20 males). Generally, only a minor variation in the frequency of asymmetries was observed between sexes as well as between the various age groups, both when calculating the increase in pupillary diameter in millimeters, in per cent, and as the anisocoria index. In agreement with previous investigations, pupil size was found to diminish with age. The use of an age-matched control material is mandatory when comparing pupillographic recordings in patients in various categories, in the ordinary condition, as well as after topical drug administration