“The Negative Interference in Tension-Type Headache During the Acute Phase and After COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review”

Abstract

In 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, a coronavirus with a high capacity for spread and transmitter of COVID-19, reaching global levels. With reports and descriptions of numerous symptoms during the symptomatic phase, headache was reported in about 6-15% of patients, and in preliminary studies reached about 60% of cases, being highly associated with febrile conditions. Pathophysiology is interlinked with direct mechanisms of viral injury, such as inflammatory processes, and may last beyond the acute phase, with cases of persistence after a long period of infection with moderate to severe intensity. This article is about a Systematic Review made by means of databases with eligibility criteria being complete studies published in the last 3 years, whose main focus is COVID 19 infection accentuating previous tension headache crises and developed during the acute phase. The studies showed that neuroradiological and laboratory tests were ineffective, as there were no changes in them about the pathophysiological mechanisms involved. Headache in the early stages of infection was associated with a history of migraine progression, thus having a higher chance of enduring post-COVID-19 infection. It is therefore concluded that COVID-19 infection accentuates headache attacks, noting tension headache as one of the most prevalent symptoms, mainly in females, during SARS-CoV-2 infection, and is more prevalent in patients with a previous history of headache and migraine, being a persistent symptom after COVID-19.