Matthew Robbins, MD: Headaches Associated With COVID-19

“We’ve seen a number of secondary headaches disorders with COVID-19 at our institution. This includes various types of cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral venous thrombosis, cervical artery dissection, post-irreversible encephalopathy syndrome.”

While researchers have continued to uncover more about the neurologic symptoms linked to COVID-19, few have noted the differences in primary and secondary headaches, which may offer additional insight. Although, as the director of the Neurology Residency Program at Weill Cornell Medicine, Matthew Robbins, MD, took a keen look at whether the majority of the headaches were primary or secondary.

Robbins then shared the department’s overall experience in a presentation at the 2020 American Headache Society (AHS) Annual Meeting. The intention of the overview was to present how the virus impacted headache-focused and general neurological care, review emerging phenomenology of headache and COVID-19, and to shed light on the experience of those in the residency program.

Among other things, Robbins understands that this has been a learning experience for everyone involved. In an interview with NeurologyLive, he provided insight on headaches and their association with the virus, as well as the long-term takeaways from pandemic from a clinician perspective.