TY - JOUR
T1 - Headaches in the emergency department -a survey of patients' characteristics, facts and needs
AU - Doretti, Alberto
AU - Shestaritc, Irina
AU - Ungaro, Daniela
AU - Lee, John Ih
AU - Lymperopoulos, Loukas
AU - Kokoti, Lili
AU - Guglielmetti, Martina
AU - Mitsikostas, Dimos Dimitrios
AU - Lampl, Christian
PY - 2019/11/5
Y1 - 2019/11/5
N2 - Background and aim: Headache is very often the cause for seeking an emergency department (ED). However, less is known about the different diagnosis of headache disorders in the ED, their management and treatment. The aim of this survey is to analyse the management of headache patients in two different ED in Europe. Methods: This retrospective survey was performed from September 2018 until January 2019. Patients were collected from the San Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy and the Ordensklinikum Barmherzige Schwestern, Linz, Austria. Only patients with a non-traumatic headache, as the primary reason for medical clarification, were included. Patients were analysed for their complexity and range of examination, their diagnoses, acute treatment and overall efficacy rate. Results: The survey consists of 415 patients, with a mean age of 43.32 (SD ±17.72); 65% were female. Technical investigation was performed in 57.8% of patients. For acute treatment non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were the most used, whereas triptans were not given. A primary headache disorder was diagnosed in 45.3% of patients, being migraine the most common, but in 32% of cases the diagnosis was not further specified. Life-threatening secondary headaches accounted for less than 2% of cases. Conclusions: The vast majority of patients attending an ED because of headache are suffering from a primary headache disorder. Life-threatening secondary headaches are rare but seek attention. NSAIDs are by far the most common drugs for treating headaches in the ED, but not triptans.
AB - Background and aim: Headache is very often the cause for seeking an emergency department (ED). However, less is known about the different diagnosis of headache disorders in the ED, their management and treatment. The aim of this survey is to analyse the management of headache patients in two different ED in Europe. Methods: This retrospective survey was performed from September 2018 until January 2019. Patients were collected from the San Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy and the Ordensklinikum Barmherzige Schwestern, Linz, Austria. Only patients with a non-traumatic headache, as the primary reason for medical clarification, were included. Patients were analysed for their complexity and range of examination, their diagnoses, acute treatment and overall efficacy rate. Results: The survey consists of 415 patients, with a mean age of 43.32 (SD ±17.72); 65% were female. Technical investigation was performed in 57.8% of patients. For acute treatment non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were the most used, whereas triptans were not given. A primary headache disorder was diagnosed in 45.3% of patients, being migraine the most common, but in 32% of cases the diagnosis was not further specified. Life-threatening secondary headaches accounted for less than 2% of cases. Conclusions: The vast majority of patients attending an ED because of headache are suffering from a primary headache disorder. Life-threatening secondary headaches are rare but seek attention. NSAIDs are by far the most common drugs for treating headaches in the ED, but not triptans.
KW - Emergency department
KW - Headache
KW - Migraine
KW - Primary headache
KW - Secondary headache
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U2 - 10.1186/s10194-019-1053-5
DO - 10.1186/s10194-019-1053-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 31690261
AN - SCOPUS:85074634649
VL - 20
JO - Journal of Headache and Pain
JF - Journal of Headache and Pain
SN - 1129-2369
IS - 1
M1 - 100
ER -