What Proportion of Emergency Department Headache Patients With Normal Neurology Have a Serious Secondary Headache Cause? A HEAD Study Report
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To estimate the proportion of Emergency Department (ED) headache patients without neurological features who are diagnosed with a serious secondary headache cause. METHODS: Unplanned secondary analysis of HEAD Study/HEAD Colombia data. Patients without a known history of cerebral conditions and with a normal neurological assessment were included. The outcome of interest was the proportion of patients diagnosed with a serious secondary headache cause. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-one patients were diagnosed with a serious secondary headache cause (191/3951, 4.8%, 95% CI 4.2%-5.5%). CONCLUSION: Absence of neurological features alone cannot be used to reliably exclude a serious secondary headache cause in ED patients.
Source: Emergency Medicine Australasia
Authors: Anne Maree Kelly, Kevin H. Chu, Win Sen Kuan, Gerben Keijzers, Frances B. Kinnear, Alejandro Cardozo‐Ocampo, the HEAD Study and HEAD Colombia Investigators
Institutions: The University of Melbourne, Western Health, The University of Queensland, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, National University of Singapore, National University Hospital, National University Health System, Griffith University, Bond University, Gold Coast Hospital, Gold Coast Health, Prince Charles Hospital, Instituto Neurológico de Colombia
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
OpenAlex ID: W4414085062