Coding glossary
Headache in MedDRA Coding
A patient or reporter says "headache." In adverse event coding, that single word hides a real decision: is it a plain tension headache, or does the verbatim carry more detail (migraine, sinus headache, cluster headache) that points to a more specific term?
What counts as a reportable headache
Any adverse event report describing head pain -- regardless of severity, duration, or suspected cause -- is a candidate for coding under a headache-family term. The coder's job is to read the verbatim closely: "bad headache after dose" and "migraine with visual aura" are not the same event, even though both mention head pain, and coding them identically would understate the second report's clinical significance.
Common coding pitfall
The most frequent mistake is over-coding to a generic term when the verbatim actually specifies a recognized sub-type (migraine, tension headache, sinus headache). MedDRA's coding convention is to always select the most specific term that accurately reflects the verbatim -- not the first plausible match found by keyword search.
Where this sits in the hierarchy
Headache-type terms live under the Nervous system disorders System Organ Class. The exact Lowest Level Term, Preferred Term, and higher hierarchy levels are licensed MedDRA content -- full hierarchy access requires an active MedDRA subscription. Practicing the *search and selection* skill (reading a verbatim, narrowing to the right level of specificity) is what MedDRA Learner's LLT-level public tier is built for.
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