Recognition and intervention in patients with migraine.

Migraine is a disabling headache that affects patients for a long time before they seek treatment. For many physicians, such patients are difficult to treat because they can require lengthy questioning to elicit critical information during exams. Careful history taking and physical examination can solve this problem and aid physicians in diagnosis and treatment of patients with migraine. No laboratory tests are available to establish a diagnosis, but tests can rule out other conditions that may cause headaches. Although imaging is not necessary to establish the diagnosis of migraine, MRI and CT may be used in selected situations.