Medication overuse headache in children and adolescents.

Medication overuse headache can be described as a chronic headache, presenting 15 or more days per month, in a patient who abuses symptomatic drugs. It has been called an unrecognized epidemic; this is in part true for adults, but is certainly so for children and adolescents. This paper reviews existing data concerning epidemiology, etiopathogenesis and treatment options, with a focus on pediatric age. This leads to evidence of a relevant number of still unanswered questions and some possible strategies to help children and adolescents with this disabling disorder.