Case 62 · ICHD-3 10.3.1

10.3.1 Headache attributed to phaeochromocytoma

Origin

Synthetic

Language

English — also available in German

Contributed by

Imported case — HeadAI synthetic vignettes (de Andrade JBC, da Silva Costa TB, Vasconcelos JL, Lopes TLM, Balsells MD, Cristofolini VL, Querobin SO, Filho FMR. Validation of an AI-based platform for structured diagnosis of headache disorders using ICHD-3 criteria. BMC Neurology 25, 489 (2025). doi:10.1186/s12883-025-04473-1. Dataset: Andrade J. Head.AI Platform. Mendeley Data, V2 (2025). doi:10.17632/4fms6cw2s5.2)

Anamnesis

Identification: A 42-year-old male patient, known to have hypertension, reports recurrent episodes of intense, pulsatile, bifrontal headache lasting 15 to 30 minutes, associated with profuse sweating, palpitations, and skin pallor. He reports that the attacks are triggered by physical exertion or emotional stress. During an episode, the blood pressure measured was 210/120 mmHg. Laboratory tests showed elevated plasma metanephrines. Abdominal CT scan revealed a mass in the right adrenal gland. The headache resolved after surgical resection of the tumor, which was confirmed to be a pheochromocytoma.

Report this case — e.g. suspected re-identification risk.