Pediatric migraine: abortive management in the emergency department

David C Sheridan1, David M Spiro, Garth D Meckler

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine/Pediatrics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.

Headache
|February 12, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric emergency department visits for headache are common. This review focuses on diagnosing and treating pediatric migraine, a frequent cause of these visits, in the emergency setting.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Neurology

Background:

  • Headaches represent about 1% of pediatric emergency department (ED) visits.
  • Distinguishing primary headaches (e.g., migraine) from secondary causes (e.g., infection, hemorrhage) is critical for ED physicians.
  • Migraine is diagnosed in 75% of children with primary headaches presenting to the ED.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current literature on pediatric migraine.
  • To emphasize diagnosis and abortive treatment strategies for migraine in the ED setting.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent studies on pediatric migraine.
  • Focus on diagnostic criteria and therapeutic interventions for emergency department settings.

Main Results:

  • Primary headaches account for 40% of pediatric ED headache visits.
  • Migraine is the most common primary headache diagnosis in this population.
  • Effective abortive treatment selection remains a key challenge for clinicians.

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric migraine is a significant reason for ED visits.
  • Accurate diagnosis and timely, appropriate abortive treatment are essential in the ED.
  • Further research may refine ED management protocols for pediatric migraine.

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