Hemicrania continua (HC) is a primary headache disorder with a pathognomonic treatment response to indomethacin. It presents clinically with a baseline continuous unilateral headache for months that intermittently exacerbates with associated autonomic features. HC was first described in 1981 by Medina and Diamond as a cluster headache variant. and the term “hemicrania continua” was first coined in 1984 by Sjaastad and Spierings.
HC has been placed under the heading of trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs) in the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorder (ICHD-3). Other primary headache disorders included in TACs are cluster headache (CH), paroxysmal hemicrania (PH), short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with cranial autonomic symptoms (SUNA), and short-lasting, unilateral, neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT).
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