by Jack Gladstein, MD, Guest Reviewer
want to know where their child fits in with a new
diagnosis of headache will feel that they understand “the
big picture.”
Chapters 7 through 13 are mostly geared for primary
care physicians. These chapters provide interested
practitioners an approach to diagnosis and management
of what will present at the office. It offers practical
insights into diagnostic decision-making tools, disability
assessment, and treatment options.
Chapters 13 through 25 are more geared to the headache specialist, who will evaluate children with either
a more severe disability from their common diagnosis,
or rare conditions which require more expertise. These
chapters were informative to me as a pediatric headache
practitioner, but offer the primary care physician a
glimpse into the world of the child who experiences
more disability from headache.
The last few chapters should not have been placed at
the end of the book. The chapter by Professor Osteraus,
“Psychological treatment of headache in childhood and
adolescents” has practical implications for parents and
the primary care physician. This information would
have ideally located within chapters 7 to 13. Similarly
in Chapter 28, the controversy of changing the diet to
book review
prevent headaches is discussed. Primary care physicians
will encounter this question earlier than headache
specialist. Chapter 29 is an excellent summary of what
the primary care physician can and cannot do. I believe
that this chapter should have been located after Chapter
14 as a summary. Similarly, Chapter 30 is an excellent
review of what the specialist needs in the management
of the more severely afflicted youngster. This information should have followed Chapter 25 as a solid review.
I love the chapter that discusses what children can teach
us about their headaches through their drawings. This
discussion would have been a wonderful introduction before Chapter 7. It would have set the stage for
describing the diagnostics and therapeutics for both the
mildly affected youngster requiring primary care, and
the seriously ill youngster requiring a multi-disciplinary
headache clinic.
This book is an outstanding addition to the pediatric
headache literature. In a small volume, there is enough
material to satisfy the novice as well as the seasoned
expert. I really enjoyed reviewing this book and am sure
that parents and physicians alike will emerge with a
better understanding and approach to youngsters with
headache. HW
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National Headache Foundation
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