Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience
Headache is a common complaint in children and is one of the most common reasons for presentation at a pediatric emergency department (PED). This study described the etiologies of patients with headache seen in the PED and determined predictors of intracranial pathology (ICP) requiring urgent interv...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2014-06-01
|
| Series: | Pediatrics and Neonatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187595721300185X |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849767951201206272 |
|---|---|
| author | Hsiang-Ju Hsiao Jing-Long Huang Shao-Hsuan Hsia Jainn-Jim Lin I-Anne Huang Chang-Teng Wu |
| author_facet | Hsiang-Ju Hsiao Jing-Long Huang Shao-Hsuan Hsia Jainn-Jim Lin I-Anne Huang Chang-Teng Wu |
| author_sort | Hsiang-Ju Hsiao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Headache is a common complaint in children and is one of the most common reasons for presentation at a pediatric emergency department (PED). This study described the etiologies of patients with headache seen in the PED and determined predictors of intracranial pathology (ICP) requiring urgent intervention. A secondary objective was to develop rapid, practical tools for screening headache in the PED.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of children who presented with a chief complaint of headache at the PED during 2008. First, we identified possible red flags in the patients' history or physical examination and neurological examination findings. Then, we recorded the brain computed tomography results.
Results: During the study period, 43,913 visits were made to the PED; in 409 (0.9%) patients, the chief complaint was headache. Acute viral, respiratory, and febrile illnesses comprised the most frequent cause of headache (59.9%). Six children (1.5%) had life-threatening ICP findings. In comparison with the group without ICP, the group with ICP had a significantly higher percentage of blurred vision (p = 0.008) and ataxia (p = 0.002).
Conclusion: Blurred vision and ataxia are the best clinical parameters to predict ICP findings. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9f5d8bd894f445b9803cf743d4e48fef |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1875-9572 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pediatrics and Neonatology |
| spelling | doaj-art-9f5d8bd894f445b9803cf743d4e48fef2025-08-20T03:04:00ZengElsevierPediatrics and Neonatology1875-95722014-06-0155320821210.1016/j.pedneo.2013.09.008Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center ExperienceHsiang-Ju Hsiao0Jing-Long Huang1Shao-Hsuan Hsia2Jainn-Jim Lin3I-Anne Huang4Chang-Teng Wu5Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Keelung, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanDepartment of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanHeadache is a common complaint in children and is one of the most common reasons for presentation at a pediatric emergency department (PED). This study described the etiologies of patients with headache seen in the PED and determined predictors of intracranial pathology (ICP) requiring urgent intervention. A secondary objective was to develop rapid, practical tools for screening headache in the PED. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of children who presented with a chief complaint of headache at the PED during 2008. First, we identified possible red flags in the patients' history or physical examination and neurological examination findings. Then, we recorded the brain computed tomography results. Results: During the study period, 43,913 visits were made to the PED; in 409 (0.9%) patients, the chief complaint was headache. Acute viral, respiratory, and febrile illnesses comprised the most frequent cause of headache (59.9%). Six children (1.5%) had life-threatening ICP findings. In comparison with the group without ICP, the group with ICP had a significantly higher percentage of blurred vision (p = 0.008) and ataxia (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Blurred vision and ataxia are the best clinical parameters to predict ICP findings.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187595721300185Xchildrencomputed tomographyemergency departmentheadache |
| spellingShingle | Hsiang-Ju Hsiao Jing-Long Huang Shao-Hsuan Hsia Jainn-Jim Lin I-Anne Huang Chang-Teng Wu Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience Pediatrics and Neonatology children computed tomography emergency department headache |
| title | Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience |
| title_full | Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience |
| title_fullStr | Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience |
| title_short | Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Service: A Medical Center Experience |
| title_sort | headache in the pediatric emergency service a medical center experience |
| topic | children computed tomography emergency department headache |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187595721300185X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hsiangjuhsiao headacheinthepediatricemergencyserviceamedicalcenterexperience AT jinglonghuang headacheinthepediatricemergencyserviceamedicalcenterexperience AT shaohsuanhsia headacheinthepediatricemergencyserviceamedicalcenterexperience AT jainnjimlin headacheinthepediatricemergencyserviceamedicalcenterexperience AT iannehuang headacheinthepediatricemergencyserviceamedicalcenterexperience AT changtengwu headacheinthepediatricemergencyserviceamedicalcenterexperience |