Predictive performance of the common red flags in emergency department headache patients: a HEAD and HEAD-Colombia study.

OBJECTIVES: Only a small proportion of patients presenting to an ED with headache have a serious cause. The SNNOOP10 criteria, which incorporates red and orange flags for serious causes, has been proposed but not well studied. This project aims to compare the proportion of patients with 10 commonly accepted red flag criteria (singly and in combination) between patients with and without a diagnosis of serious secondary headache in a large, multinational cohort of ED patients presenting with headache. METHODS: Secondary analysis of data obtained in the HEAD and HEAD-Colombia studies. The outcome of interest was serious secondary headache. The predictive performance of 10 red flag criteria from the SNNOOP10 criteria list was estimated individually and in combination. RESULTS: 5293 patients were included, of whom 6.1% (95% CI 5.5% to 6.8%) had a defined serious cause identified. New neurological deficit, history of neoplasm, older age (>50 years) and recent head trauma (2-7 days prior) were independent predictors of a serious secondary headache diagnosis. After adjusting for other predictors, sudden onset, onset during exertion, pregnancy and immune suppression were not associated with a serious headache diagnosis. The combined sensitivity of the red flag criteria overall was 96.5% (95% CI 93.2% to 98.3%) but specificity was low, 5.1% (95% CI 4.3% to 6.0%). Positive predictive value was 9.3% (95% CI 8.2% to 10.5%) with negative predictive value of 93.5% (95% CI 87.6% to 96.8%). CONCLUSION: The sensitivity and specificity of the red flag criteria in this study were lower than previously reported. Regarding clinical practice, this suggests that red flag criteria may be useful to identify patients at higher risk of a serious secondary headache cause, but their low specificity could result in increased rates of CT scanning. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ANZCTR376695.

Migraine in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Multinational Study of Patient Characteristics, Management, and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Migraine headache is commonly diagnosed in emergency departments (ED). There is relatively little real-world information about the epidemiology, investigation, management, adherence to therapeutic guidelines and disposition of patients treated in ED with a final diagnosis of migraine. The primary aim of the current study is to get a snapshot of assessment and management patterns of acute migraine presentations to the different settings of EDs with a view to raise awareness. METHODS: This is a planned sub-study of a prospective study conducted in 67 health services in 10 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the UK investigating the epidemiology and outcome of adult patients presenting to ED with nontraumatic headache. Outcomes of interest for this study are demographics, clinical features (including severity), patterns of investigation, treatment, disposition, and outcome of patients diagnosed as having migraine as their final ED diagnosis. RESULTS: The cohort comprises 1,101 patients with a mean age of 39 years (SD ± 13.5; 73.7% [811]) were female. Most patients had had migraine diagnosed previously (77.7%). Neuroimaging was performed in 25.9% with a very low diagnostic yield or significant findings (0.07%). Treatment of mild migraine was in accordance with current guidelines, but few patients with moderate or severe symptoms received recommended treatment. Paracetamol (46.3%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (42.7%) were the most commonly prescribed agents. Metoclopramide (22.8%), ondansetron (19.2%), chlorpromazine (12.8%), and prochlorperazine (12.8%) were also used. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that therapeutic practices are not congruent with current guidelines, especially for patients with severe symptoms. Efforts to improve and sustain compliance with existing management best practices are required.

Thunderclap headache syndrome presenting to the emergency department: an international multicentre observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Most headache presentations to emergency departments (ED) have benign causes; however, approximately 10% will have serious pathology. International guidelines recommend that patients describing the onset of headache as 'thunderclap' undergo neuroimaging and further investigation. The association of this feature with serious headache cause is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine if patients presenting with thunderclap headache are significantly more likely to have serious underlying pathology than patients with more gradual onset and to determine compliance with guidelines for investigation. METHODS: This was a planned secondary analysis of an international, multicentre, observational study of adult ED patients presenting with a main complaint of headache. Data regarding demographics, investigation strategies and final ED diagnoses were collected. Thunderclap headache was defined as severe headache of immediate or almost immediate onset and peak intensity. Proportion of patients with serious pathology in thunderclap and non-thunderclap groups were compared by χ² test. RESULTS: 644 of 4536 patients presented with thunderclap headache (14.2%). CT brain imaging and lumbar puncture were performed in 62.7% and 10.6% of cases, respectively. Among patients with thunderclap headache, serious pathology was identified in 10.9% (95%CI 8.7% to 13.5%) of cases-significantly higher than the proportion found in patients with a different headache onset (6.6% (95% CI 5.9% to 7.4%), p<0.001.). The incidence of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) was 3.6% (95% CI 2.4% to 5.3%) in those with thunderclap headache vs 0.3% (95% CI 0.2% to 0.5%) in those without (p<0.001). All cases of SAH were diagnosed on CT imaging. Non-serious intracranial pathology was diagnosed in 87.7% of patients with thunderclap headache. CONCLUSIONS: Thunderclap headache presenting to the ED appears be associated with higher risk for serious intracranial pathology, including SAH, although most patients with this type of headache had a benign cause. Neuroimaging rates did not align with international guidelines, suggesting potential need for further work on standardisation.

Epidemiology, investigation, management, and outcome of headache in emergency departments (HEAD study)-A multinational observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of nontraumatic headache in adults presenting to emergency departments (EDs). BACKGROUND: Headache is a common reason for presentation to EDs. Little is known about the epidemiology, investigation, and treatment of nontraumatic headache in patients attending EDs internationally. METHODS: An international, multicenter, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted over one calendar month in 2019. Participants were adults (≥18 years) with nontraumatic headache as the main presenting complaint. Exclusion criteria were recent head trauma, missing records, interhospital transfers, re-presentation with same headache as a recent visit, and headache as an associated symptom. Data collected included demographics, clinical assessment, investigation, treatment, and outcome. RESULTS: We enrolled 4536 patients (67 hospitals, 10 countries). "Thunderclap" onset was noted in 14.2% of cases (644/4536). Headache was rated as severe in 27.2% (1235/4536). New neurological examination findings were uncommon (3.2%; 147/4536). Head computed tomography (CT) was performed in 36.6% of patients (1661/4536), of which 9.9% showed clinically important pathology (165/1661). There was substantial variation in CT scan utilization between countries (15.9%-75.0%). More than 30 different diagnoses were made. Presumed nonmigraine benign headache accounted for 45.4% of cases (2058/4536) with another 24.3% classified as migraine (1101/4536). A small subgroup of patients have a serious secondary cause for their headache (7.1%; 323/4536) with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), stroke, neoplasm, non-SAH intracranial hemorrhage/hematoma, and meningitis accounting for about 1% each. Most patients were treated with simple analgesics (paracetamol, aspirin, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents). Most patients were discharged home (83.8%; 3792/4526). In-hospital mortality was 0.3% (11/4526). CONCLUSION: Diagnosis and management of headache in the ED is challenging. A small group of patients have a serious secondary cause for their symptoms. There is wide variation in the use of neuroimaging and treatments. Further work is needed to understand the variation in practice and to better inform international guidelines regarding emergent neuroimaging and treatment.

The Headache in Emergency Departments study: Opioid prescribing in patients presenting with headache. A multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the patterns of opioid use in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with nontraumatic headache by severity and geography. BACKGROUND: International guidelines recognize opioids are ineffective in treating primary headache disorders. Globally, many countries are experiencing an opioid crisis. The ED can be a point of initial exposure leading to tolerance for patients. More geographically diverse data are required to inform practice. METHODS: This was a planned, multicenter, cross-sectional, observational substudy of the international Headache in Emergency Departments (HEAD) study. Participants were prospectively identified throughout March 2019 from 67 hospitals in Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Adult patients with nontraumatic headache were included as identified by the local site investigator. RESULTS: Overall, 4536 patients were enrolled in the HEAD study. Opioids were administered in 1072/4536 (23.6%) patients in the ED, and 386/3792 (10.2%) of discharged patients. High opioid use occurred prehospital in Australia (190/1777, 10.7%) and New Zealand (55/593, 9.3%). Opioid use in the ED was highest in these countries (Australia: 586/1777, 33.0%; New Zealand: 221/593, 37.3%). Opioid prescription on discharge was highest in Singapore (125/442, 28.3%) and Hong Kong (12/49, 24.5%). Independent predictors of ED opioid administration included the following: severe headache (OR 4.2, 95% CI 3.1-5.5), pre-ED opioid use (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.11-1.82), and long-term opioid use (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.26-2.58). ED opioid administration independently predicted opioid prescription at discharge (OR 8.4, 95% CI 6.3-11.0). CONCLUSION: Opioid prescription for nontraumatic headache in the ED and on discharge varies internationally. Severe headache, prehospital opioid use, and long-term opioid use predicted ED opioid administration. ED opioid administration was a strong predictor of opioid prescription at discharge. These findings support education around policy and guidelines to ensure adherence to evidence-based interventions for headache.

Computed tomography brain scan utilization in patients with headache presenting to emergency departments: a multinational study.

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Recommended indications for emergency computed tomography (CT) brain scans are not only complex and evolving, but it is also unknown whether they are being followed in emergency departments (EDs). OBJECTIVE: To determine the CT utilization and diagnostic yield in the ED in patients with headaches across broad geographical regions. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from a multinational cross-sectional study of ED headache presentations over one month in 2019. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Hospitals from 10 participating countries were divided into five geographical regions [Australia and New Zealand (ANZ); Colombia; Europe: Belgium, France, UK, and Romania; Hong Kong and Singapore (HKS); and Turkey). Adult patients with nontraumatic headache as the primary presenting complaint were included. Patients were identified from ED management systems. OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: The outcome measures were CT utilization and diagnostic yield. CT utilization was calculated using a multilevel binary logistic regression model to account for clustering of patients within hospitals and regions. Imaging data (CT requests and reports) were sourced from radiology management systems. MAIN RESULTS: The study included 5281 participants. Median (interquartile range) age was 40 (29-55) years, 66% were women. Overall mean CT utilization was 38.5% [95% confidence interval (CI), 30.4-47.4%]. Regional utilization was highest in Europe (46.0%) and lowest in Turkey (28.9%), with HKS (38.0%), ANZ (40.0%), and Colombia (40.8%) in between. Its distribution across hospitals was approximately symmetrical. There was greater variation in CT utilization between hospitals within a region than between regions (hospital variance 0.422, region variance 0.100). Overall mean CT diagnostic yield was 9.9% (95% CI, 8.7-11.3%). Its distribution across hospitals was positively skewed. Regional yield was lower in Europe (5.4%) than in other regions: Colombia (9.1%), HKS (9.7%), Turkey (10.6%), and ANZ (11.2%). There was a weak negative correlation between utilization and diagnostic yield ( r  = -0.248). CONCLUSION: In this international study, there was a high variation (28.9-46.6%) in CT utilization and diagnostic yield (5.4-11.2%) across broad geographic regions. Europe had the highest utilization and the lowest yield. The study findings provide a foundation to address variation in neuroimaging in ED headache presentations.

Clinical presentation and assessment of older patients presenting with headache to emergency departments: A multicentre observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics, assessment and management of older emergency department (ED) patients with non-traumatic headache. METHODS: Planned sub-study of a prospective, multicentre, international, observational study, which included adult patients presenting to ED with non-traumatic headache. Patients aged ≥75 years were compared to those aged <75 years. Outcomes of interest were epidemiology, investigations, serious headache diagnosis and outcome. RESULTS: A total of 298 patients (7%) in the parent study were aged ≥75 years. Older patients were less likely to report severe headache pain or subjective fever (both P < 0.001). On examination, older patients were more likely to be confused, have lower Glasgow Coma Scores and to have new neurological deficits (all P < 0.001). Serious secondary headache disorder (composite of headache due to subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), intracranial haemorrhage, meningitis, encephalitis, cerebral abscess, neoplasm, hydrocephalus, vascular dissection, stroke, hypertensive crisis, temporal arteritis, idiopathic intracranial hypertension or ventriculoperitoneal shunt complications) was diagnosed in 18% of older patients compared to 6% of younger patients (P < 0.001). Computed tomography brain imaging was performed in 66% of patients ≥75 years compared to 35% of younger patients (P < 0.001). Older patients were less likely to be discharged (43% vs 63%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Older patients with headache had different clinical features to the younger cohort and were more likely to have a serious secondary cause of headache than younger adults. There should be a low threshold for investigation in older patients attending ED with non-traumatic headache.

Effect of the introduction of C-MAC videolaryngoscopy on first-pass intubation success rates for emergency medicine registrars.

OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated the impact of introducing C-MAC videolaryngoscopy as the standard method of visualising glottic structures on first-pass intubation success of emergency medicine (EM) registrars in a large tertiary academic hospital in New Zealand. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, all patients receiving attempted orotracheal intubation in Auckland City Hospital ED 1 year prior to and 1 year after the introduction of C-MAC videolaryngoscopy were compared. The primary outcome was first-pass intubation success rates by EM registrars. Secondary outcomes were first-pass success rates by all intubators, and incidence of any complication of intubation. RESULTS: There were 163 intubations by EM registrars from June 2015 to August 2017. There was a clinically important and statistically significant improvement in first-pass success from 59.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 44.1-68.8%) to 85.1% (95% CI 76.0-91.2%, P < 0.001) after the introduction of C-MAC. In multivariate analysis, the independent predictors of success were: Airway Not Predicted Difficult, odds ratio (OR) 2.49 (95% CI 1.06-5.85, P = 0.037); and use of videolaryngoscope, OR 4.49 (95% CI 1.85-10.91, P = 0.001). Overall, complications of intubation improved significantly after introduction of C-MAC (28.9%, 95% CI 19.9-40.0% prior to C-MAC introduction; 16.1%, 95% CI 9.7-25.3% after; P = 0.048). CONCLUSION: This is the first published study specifically addressing EM registrar intubation success rates in New Zealand, adding to the existing body of data suggesting that videolaryngoscopy may improve success rates for novice intubators.

What proportion of healthcare worker masks carry virus? A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Concerns have been raised by healthcare organisations in New Zealand that routine mask use by healthcare workers (HCW) may increase the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through increased face touching. Routine mask use by frontline HCW was not recommended when seeing 'low risk' patients. The aim of this review was to determine the carriage of respiratory viruses on facemasks used by HCW. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted with structured searches of medical and allied health databases. Two authors independently screened articles for inclusion, with substantial agreement (k = 0.66, 95% CI 0.54-0.79). Studies that at least one author recommended for full text review were reviewed in full for inclusion. Two authors independently extracted data from included studies including the setting, method of analysis and results. There was exact agreement on the proportion of virus detected on masks. RESULTS: We retrieved 1233 titles, 47 underwent full text review and five studies reported in four articles were included. The studies were limited by small numbers and failure to test all eligible masks in some studies. The proportion in each study ranged from 0 (95% CI 0-10) to 25% (95% CI 8-54). No study reported clinical respiratory illness as a result of virus on the masks. CONCLUSIONS: Although limited, current evidence suggests that viral carriage on the outer surface of surgical masks worn by HCW treating patients with clinical respiratory illness is low and there was not strong evidence to support the assumption that mask use may increase the risk of viral transmission.

Randomized Controlled Trial of Humidified High-Flow Nasal Oxygen for Acute Respiratory Distress in the Emergency Department: The HOT-ER Study.

BACKGROUND: Humidified high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a novel method of oxygen delivery with increasing use in emergency departments and intensive care settings despite little evidence showing benefit over standard oxygen delivery methods (standard O2). The aim of this study was to determine whether HFNC compared with standard O2 given to subjects in acute respiratory distress would reduce the need for noninvasive ventilation or invasive ventilation. METHODS: This was a pragmatic open randomized controlled trial in adult subjects with hypoxia and tachypnea presenting to a tertiary academic hospital emergency department. The primary outcome was the need for mechanical ventilation in the emergency department. RESULTS: We screened 1,287 patients, 322 met entry criteria and 19 were excluded from analysis. Of these, 165 randomized to HFNC and 138 to standard O2 were analyzed. Baseline characteristics were similar. In the HFNC group, 3.6% (95% CI 1.5-7.9%) versus 7.2% (95% CI 3.8-13%) in the standard O2 group required mechanical ventilation in the emergency department (P = .16), and 5.5% (95% CI 2.8-10.2%) in HFNC versus 11.6% (95% CI 7.2-18.1%) in the standard O2 group required mechanical ventilation within 24 h of admission (P = .053). There was no difference in mortality or stay. Adverse effects were infrequent; however, fewer subjects in the HFNC group had a fall in Glasgow coma score due to CO2 retention, 0% (95% CI 0-3%) versus 2.2% (95% CI 0.4-6%). One in 12 subjects did not tolerate HFNC. CONCLUSIONS: HFNC was not shown to reduce the need for mechanical ventilation in the emergency department for subjects with acute respiratory distress compared with standard O2, although it was safe and may reduce the need for escalation of oxygen therapy within the first 24 h of admission.