Using Battlefield Acupuncture (BFA or Auricular Acupuncture) to Treat Primary Headaches in the Emergency Department

Patients with headaches who present to the emergency department (ED) need prompt pain management. Headaches are a common complaint in the ED. Urgent evaluation is critical to assess for life-threatening headache causes. Once the causes of secondary headaches are ruled out, various pain control modalities for primary headaches can be used. This article and case will illustrate the treatment of primary headaches using battlefield acupuncture (BFA) as it is effective, minimally invasive, and has minimal undesired side effects or interactions. BFA will continue to work after the patient has left the ED. Average pain relief can be 4-7 days but varies depending on etiology. BFA presents an opportunity to minimize costly resource overutilization while still providing an option for quick, safe, and effective pain control. The article will also briefly mention some crucial headache assessments (detailed education on headache assessment should be done separately by the reader).