Chronic post-traumatic headache, intractable

This code identifies a persistent headache disorder that develops following a head injury or trauma, which has proven resistant to standard medical treatment. The headache is ongoing, rather than episodic, and significantly impacts the patient's daily life despite therapeutic interventions.

Apply this code for patients experiencing a chronic headache directly attributable to a prior head trauma, where the headache has been refractory to multiple treatment modalities. Documentation should clearly state the headache's chronic nature, its post-traumatic origin, and the failure of various treatments to alleviate symptoms.

• Ensure documentation explicitly states "intractable" or "refractory" to support the severity indicated by this code.
• Distinguish from acute post-traumatic headache (G44.31-) and other chronic headache types not linked to trauma.
• Always sequence this code after the primary head injury code, if still active and relevant.