Headache Centre, Neurological Division, SS Giovanni e Paolo Hospital, Venice, Italy.
Cephalalgia. 2012 Jun;32(8):592-9. doi: 10.1177/0333102412441720. Epub 2012 Apr 5.
The 'headache attributed to airplane travel', also named 'airplane headache' (AH), is a recently described headache disorder that appears exclusively in relation to airplane flights, in particular during the landing phase. Based on the stereotypical nature of the attacks in all reported cases, we proposed provisional diagnostic criteria for AH in a previously published paper. Up to now 37 cases have been described in the literature.
After our paper was disseminated via the Internet, we received several email messages from subjects around the world who had experienced such a peculiar headache. Their cooperation, by completing a structured questionnaire and allowing the direct observation of three subjects, enabled us to carry out a study on a total of 75 patients suffering from AH.
Our survey confirmed the stereotypical nature of the attacks, in particular with regard to the short duration of the pain (lasting less than 30 minutes in up to 95% of the cases), the clear relationship with the landing phase, the unilateral pain, the male preponderance, and the absence of accompanying signs and/or symptoms. It is conceivable to consider barotrauma as one of the main mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of AH. The observation that the pain appears inconstantly in the majority of cases, without any evident disorder affecting the paranasal sinuses, could be consistent with a multimodal pathogenesis underlying this condition, possibly resulting in the interaction between anatomic, environmental and temporary concurrent factors.
This is by far the largest AH case series ever reported in the literature. The diagnostic criteria that we previously proposed proved to be valid when applied to a large number of patients suffering from this condition. We support its recognition as a new form of headache, to be included in the forthcoming update of the International Headache Society Classification, within '10. Headache attributed to disorder of homoeostasis'. Its formal validation would favour further studies aimed at improving the understanding of its pathophysiology and implementing preventative measures.
“与飞行相关的头痛”，也称为“航空性头痛”（AH），是一种最近描述的头痛障碍，仅与飞行有关，特别是在降落阶段。基于所有报告病例中攻击的典型性质，我们在之前发表的一篇论文中提出了 AH 的临时诊断标准。迄今为止，文献中已描述了 37 例病例。
我们的论文在互联网上传播后，我们收到了来自世界各地的一些主题的电子邮件，他们经历了这样一种特殊的头痛。他们的合作，通过完成一份结构化的问卷，并允许直接观察三个主题，使我们能够对总共 75 名患有 AH 的患者进行研究。
我们的调查证实了攻击的典型性质，特别是在疼痛持续时间短（在多达 95%的病例中持续少于 30 分钟）、与降落阶段的明确关系、单侧疼痛、男性优势以及没有伴随的体征和/或症状方面。可以认为气压伤是 AH 病理生理学中涉及的主要机制之一。观察到疼痛在大多数情况下不定时出现，而没有任何明显影响鼻窦的紊乱，这可能与该病症的多模式发病机制一致，可能导致解剖、环境和临时并发因素之间的相互作用。
这是迄今为止文献中报告的最大的 AH 病例系列。我们之前提出的诊断标准在应用于大量患有这种疾病的患者时被证明是有效的。我们支持将其确认为一种新的头痛形式，将其纳入即将更新的国际头痛协会分类中，归入“10. 与体内平衡障碍相关的头痛”。其正式验证将有利于进一步研究，旨在提高对其病理生理学的理解并实施预防措施。
