SUNCT SYNDROME - REPETITIVE AND OVERLAPPING ATTACKS

A 79-year-old patient had been suffering from right orbital pain attac ks since he was 77. The pain, of an ''electrical'' or burning characte r, was moderate to severe in intensity. Single attacks lasted for 30-6 0 seconds each and were accompanied by prominent ipsilateral conjuncti val injection and tearing as well as slight rhinorrhoea. The temporal pattern of attacks was irregular with spontaneous remissions alternati ng with unpredictable symptomatic phases. During active periods, attac ks could be triggered by several precipitants acting on trigeminal and extra-trigeminal innervated areas. On most occasions, the patient had 2-3 attacks daily but, at worst, he might have almost continuous shor t-lasting attacks in periods of 1 to 3 hours length. When attacks had such frequency they presented either as repetitive or overlapping sing le episodes. According to the clinical features it is concluded that t he case reported is a new case of SUNCT syndrome.