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Life
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The Other Pediatric Primary Headaches: 2nd Edition
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The Other Pediatric Primary Headaches: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 March 2026 | Viewed by 681

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vincenzo Raieli

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Guest Editor
Child Neuropsychiatry Unit-ISMEP-ARNAS CIVICO, 90100 Palermo, Italy
Interests: migraine; headache; pharmacology; neurology; neurological disorders; trigeminal neuralgia; pain medicine; neurological diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Vittorio Sciruicchio

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Guest Editor
Children Epilepsy and EEG Center, San Paolo Hospital, ASL Bari, 70132 Bari, Italy
Interests: pediatric migraine; epilepsy in childhood; EEG and neurological diseases; fibromyalgia and children
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giuseppe Santangelo

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Guest Editor
Child Neuropsychiatry Department, ISMEP—ARNAS Civico–Di Cristina Benfratelli, Di Cristina Pediatric Hospital, 90134 Palermo, Italy
Interests: migraine; headache; pediatric migraine; neuroinflammation; epilepsy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The editors are grateful to the many researchers who contributed to the success of the first volume of this Special Issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/life/special_issues/Pediatric_Headaches). We are very pleased to announce the second volume of our Special Issue, titled “The Other Pediatric Primary Headaches”.

Headaches are a common and crippling neurological disorder in the pediatric population. Despite the significant body of data on pediatric headaches, they continue to be an important challenge for clinicians. In fact, they are probably the most frequent neurological symptom for which children and adolescents are referred to a doctor or an emergency department. 

A child is not only a “little adult", and pediatric primary headaches can vary significantly according to different ages, in terms of not only clinical and prognostic aspects but also responses to therapy. Other types of pediatric headaches, excluding migraines, can be quite frequent, for example, tension headaches, primary stabbing headaches, or TACs; however, they are not well understood nor studied. Therefore, it is important for us to gain more information about their characteristic clinical aspects, especially in early childhood, the adaptability of the diagnostic criteria of the latest IHS classification, and the outcomes that may occur at later ages. Furthermore, it is crucial to investigate possible changes within the COVID-19 era, as well as responses to pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to collect clinical observations and experimental evidence showing the peculiarity of other primary pediatric headaches at this early stage of life. We hope that this collection can help our fellow clinicians recognize and treat them efficaciously in younger patients.

Dr. Vincenzo Raieli
Dr. Vittorio Sciruicchio
Dr. Giuseppe Santangelo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pediatric TACs
  • primary pediatric headaches
  • pediatric tension headaches
  • preventive treatment
  • acute treatment
  • clinical features
  • children
  • pediatric headaches in IV 3ICHD

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

28 pages, 4686 KiB  
Review
Children’s Headache Through Drawings: A Narrative Review and a Portrait Gallery
by Floriana Ferro, Caterina Gaspari, Giulia Manfrè, Federica Cernigliaro, Daniela D’Agnano, Ruben Panzica, Edvige Correnti, Maria Rosita Ruta, Francesca Marchese, Renata Pitino, Mariarita Capizzi, Giuseppe Santangelo, Antonella Versace, Vittorio Sciruicchio and Vincenzo Raieli
Life 2025, 15(7), 996; https://doi.org/10.3390/life15070996 - 23 Jun 2025
Viewed by 435
Abstract
Headache represents one of the most prevalent and disabling conditions in the pediatric population, with significant repercussions on mental and psychological well-being, as well as on academic achievement and social functioning, ultimately leading to a marked reduction in quality of life. Currently, the [...] Read more.
Headache represents one of the most prevalent and disabling conditions in the pediatric population, with significant repercussions on mental and psychological well-being, as well as on academic achievement and social functioning, ultimately leading to a marked reduction in quality of life. Currently, the diagnosis of headache is based on the clinical criteria of the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3). However, the characteristics of headache may differ between adults and children, as well as the ability of children to provide a complete description of the pain and associated symptoms. The immature narrative skills of children can represent a limitation in defining the clinical phenotype of headache, making the diagnosis more complex. This is even more challenging when extracting information about the characteristics of the headache in children whose verbal expression is poorly developed or completely absent. Given these limitations, clinical psychology has long used drawing as an effective diagnostic instrument to bypass verbal communication barriers. This tool provides unique access to children’s psychological and emotional states, as a direct window into their inner world and as an expressive medium that often generates more detailed, accurate, and clinically actionable information, compared to verbal reports alone. For these reasons, drawing has been recognized as a valuable diagnostic tool for decades, with multiple studies demonstrating specificity and accuracy rates comparable to standard clinical assessments. Particularly for young children, drawings may give access to fundamental information that might otherwise remain inaccessible, thereby allowing both accurate diagnosis and individualized treatment planning. Multiple studies have highlighted and confirmed the graphic differences between representations of various types of headaches and the undeniable utility of an “artistic diagnosis” alongside the clinical one. Furthermore, the literature suggests and encourages the use of drawing in clinical practice, both in the diagnostic process and during subsequent follow-up, as an effective, enjoyable, easy-to-use, and low-cost resource. Accordingly, we propose a narrative review accompanied by a curated collection of drawings that may help identify and categorize specific correlations between graphic representations and clinical phenotypes, such as pain location, quality, intensity, association with nausea and vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia, and types of migraine aura. Our goal is to create a visual reference that can aid clinicians in the accurate interpretation of children’s drawings. Additionally, we aim to promote the integration of this method into routine clinical practice to improve diagnostic precision and support a more child-centered model of care. We also hope to propose new iconographic models to further enrich the diagnostic framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Other Pediatric Primary Headaches: 2nd Edition)
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