Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs
Abstract 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...
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doaj-b4dbcf1b15c54079a638a507c525d8ab2020-11-25T04:08:38ZengBMCThe Journal of Headache and Pain1129-23691129-23772019-11-012011610.1186/s10194-019-1053-5Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needsAlberto Doretti0Irina Shestaritc1Daniela Ungaro2John-Ih Lee3Loukas Lymperopoulos4Lili Kokoti5Martina Guglielmetti6Dimos Dimitrios Mitsikostas7Christian Lampl8on behalf of the School of Advanced Studies of the European Headache Federation (EHF-SAS)Department of Neurology-Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience, Istituto Auxologico ItalianoDepartment of Neurorehabilitation, Yaroslavl regional clinical hospital of War VeteransDepartment of Neurology-Stroke Unit and Laboratory of Neuroscience, Istituto Auxologico ItalianoDepartment of Neurology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University80th Battalion of Medical Corps, General Ioannis Makrygiannis CampGeneral Hospital of GrevenaRegional Referral Headache Centre, Sant’ Andrea Hospital1st Neurology Department, Aeginition Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of AthensHeadache Medical Center Linz, Ordensklinikum Barmherzige SchwesternAbstract 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.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s10194-019-1053-5HeadacheEmergency departmentPrimary headacheMigraineSecondary headache |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alberto Doretti Irina Shestaritc Daniela Ungaro John-Ih Lee Loukas Lymperopoulos Lili Kokoti Martina Guglielmetti Dimos Dimitrios Mitsikostas Christian Lampl on behalf of the School of Advanced Studies of the European Headache Federation (EHF-SAS) |
spellingShingle |
Alberto Doretti Irina Shestaritc Daniela Ungaro John-Ih Lee Loukas Lymperopoulos Lili Kokoti Martina Guglielmetti Dimos Dimitrios Mitsikostas Christian Lampl on behalf of the School of Advanced Studies of the European Headache Federation (EHF-SAS) Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs The Journal of Headache and Pain Headache Emergency department Primary headache Migraine Secondary headache |
author_facet |
Alberto Doretti Irina Shestaritc Daniela Ungaro John-Ih Lee Loukas Lymperopoulos Lili Kokoti Martina Guglielmetti Dimos Dimitrios Mitsikostas Christian Lampl on behalf of the School of Advanced Studies of the European Headache Federation (EHF-SAS) |
author_sort |
Alberto Doretti |
title |
Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs |
title_short |
Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs |
title_full |
Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs |
title_fullStr |
Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs |
title_full_unstemmed |
Headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs |
title_sort |
headaches in the emergency department –a survey of patients’ characteristics, facts and needs |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
The Journal of Headache and Pain |
issn |
1129-2369 1129-2377 |
publishDate |
2019-11-01 |
description |
Abstract 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. |
topic |
Headache Emergency department Primary headache Migraine Secondary headache |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s10194-019-1053-5 |
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