Headache as main reason for consultation to a hospital Emergency Department in Spain: a prospective study

Abstract

Introduction: Headache is common in the general population and a frequent reason for medical consultation.

Objectives: To describe the characteristics of patients attending the Emergency Department (ED) for headache.

Methods: A descriptive study with prospective collection of 100 consecutive patients over 15 years old who attended our ED due to headache as the main complaint.

Results: Headache accounted for 1.4% of ED visits. The most common age range is between 31 and 45 years and the majority of the patients are females (61%). We diagnosed 67 primary and 33 secondary headaches. The most frequent diagnosis was migraine, with 36% of cases. One out of 3 patients had a history of headache and 4 out of 5 consulted by their own decision. Only a small percentage of patients were admitted as inpatients (12%), and 3 out of 5 were referred to Primary Care. Complementary tests were performed on 84% of the patients. One CT scan was performed for every 3 patients. A total of 80% patients was correctly diagnosed by the ED physicians.

Conclusions: Headache is a frequent complaint in the ED, where primary headaches are the most common with migraine being the most frequent reason for consultation. In our setting, there is a good screening and diagnosis of headaches, as well as an adequate use of the available resources in the ED for their diagnosis and management.

Keywords: Cefalea; Diagnosis; Diagnóstico; Emergency Department; Headache; Migraine; Migraña; Prevalence; Prevalencia; Urgencias.