Non-traumatic headache in the emergency department

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Emergency Medicine
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Headache is a common chief complaint in emergency departments.
• Understanding the prevalence and types of headaches presenting to emergency care is crucial for resource allocation and patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the characteristics of patients presenting with headache to an emergency department.
• To identify the most common headache diagnoses and the incidence of serious neurological conditions.
• To provide recommendations for the evaluation of headaches based on emergency department data and current literature.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 631 emergency department visits for headache over a 12-month period.
• Review of patient demographics, chief complaints, diagnoses, and available follow-up data.
• Comparison with existing literature on headache evaluation.

Main Results:

• Headache accounted for 1.6% of all emergency department visits.
• Muscle contraction-tension headache and migraine were the most frequent diagnoses, comprising 54.5% of cases.
• Serious neurological conditions were identified in 5% of patients.
• A female predominance (3:2 ratio) was observed.

Conclusions:

• Muscle contraction-tension headache and migraine are the predominant headache types seen in emergency departments.
• While most headaches are benign, a significant minority may represent serious neurological conditions requiring thorough evaluation.
• Evidence-based recommendations for laboratory evaluation of suspicious headaches are essential for effective emergency care.