Headache at the emergency room: Etiologies, diagnostic usefulness of the ICHD 3 criteria, red and green flags

摘要

IntroductionNon-traumatic headaches account for 0.5 to 4.5% at the emergency department (ED). Although primary headaches represent the most common causes, the likelihood of ominous etiology has to be considered by clinicians in order to avoid diagnostic and therapeutic pitfalls. Due to the absence of biological or imaging findings to diagnose primary headaches we hypothesize ICHD 3(International Headache criteria 3) criteria as a useful tool at the moment to identify and to establish a difference between those patients who are undergoing primary headaches and those who will need advanced diagnostic strategies.