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11 - Approach to the Pediatric Patient with Headache in the Emergency Department

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2017

By
Serena L. Orr  and
David Sheridan
Edited by
Serena L. Orr ,
Benjamin W. Friedman  and
David W. Dodick
Serena L. Orr
Affiliation:
Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa
Benjamin W. Friedman
Affiliation:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York
David W. Dodick
Affiliation:
Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ
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Summary

Abstract

Headache is a common presentation in the pediatric emergency department (ED). The majority of pediatric patients presenting to the ED with headache will have a non-life-threatening cause. In order to determine the etiology of the headache, the clinician must take a diligent history and carry out a focused physical exam. Investigations may be required to narrow the differential diagnosis, though in many cases neuroimaging is not required in the acute setting. Headache management will depend on etiology. Although many of the headaches in the pediatric ED are primary headaches, the evidence on how to treat these headaches is limited.

In this chapter, the epidemiology of headache in the pediatric ED will be reviewed. Both detailed and screening approaches to the history and physical exam will be provided. An approach to diagnostic tests and treatment of the primary headaches will be given, incorporating evidence-based recommendations where possible.

Type
Chapter
Information
Emergency Headache
Diagnosis and Management
 , pp. 110 - 124
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2017

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