Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

"Aura" is a term that describes the complex neurological symptoms that precede an attack of migrainosus headache. These symptoms may occur a few hours to a day before the onset of the headache. These symptoms may include simple fatigue, difficulty in concentration, sensitivity to sound or light, nausea or vomiting, blurring of vision, or pallor. The alterations in cerebral blood flow in the course of the disease are believed to be responsible for the aura.

Aura may differ from patient to patient and during different episodes in the same patient. Aura though common accompaniment in migraine is not pathgnomonic for migraine as it occurs in other pathological conditions like a cluster headache.