Headache with focal neurologic signs in children at the emergency department

Clinical Characteristics and Appropriateness of Investigations in Children With Headaches at the Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

Identifying the cause of headaches in pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) can be challenging due to the lack of comprehensive research. This study aims to identify the frequency, characteristics, and unnecessary diagnostic procedures of patients with headaches in the PED setting.

METHODS

A six-month cross-sectional study was conducted at the PED of Alexandria University Children's Hospital, including all children with headaches. Children were classified as having primary headache (PH), secondary benign headache (SBH), and secondary serious headache (SSH) according to predetermined criteria. Logistic regression was employed to analyze the risk factors associated with SSH.

RESULTS

A total of 164 visits to the PED were recorded, out of a total of 22,662 visits, accounting for approximately 0.72% of all visits and 1.17% of the total number of children admitted. PH was the most common cause, accounting for 61.0% of cases, followed by SSH with 24.4%, whereas SBH was the least common with 13.4%. Abnormal neurological examination (odds ratio, 53.752 [1.628 to 1774.442], P = 0.026∗) was found to have a strong and statistically significant association with SSH in the multivariate analysis. Regarding the appropriateness of the investigations conducted, it was found that over half (66.5%) of the cases had unnecessary neuroimaging, with 52% of these cases being children with PH.

CONCLUSIONS

Headaches in children are commonly reported during visits to the PED. PH was the most prevalent, followed by SSH, whereas SBH was the least common. Many of the children received inaccurate first diagnoses and performed unnecessary laboratory tests, neuroimaging, and other tests, mostly electroencephalography.

Sumatriptan as a First-Line Treatment for Headache in the Pediatric Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

Headache is a common presenting condition for patients seen in the pediatric emergency department (ED). Intranasal (IN) sumatriptan is a well-tolerated and safe abortive treatment for migraine headache, but it is infrequently administered in pediatric EDs. In this study we characterize an ED migraine pathway that uses IN sumatriptan as a first-line treatment.

METHODS

We performed retrospective chart analysis from a single center, reviewing a cohort of patients treated on an ED migraine pathway between October 2016 and February 2020. We reviewed patient demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, change in pain scores, sumatriptan prescriptions at discharge, length of stay (LOS), ED charges, and unexpected return visits.

RESULTS

A total of 558 patients (aged six to 21 years, 66% female) were included in this study. Overall, the median pretreatment pain score was 7 (interquartile range [IQR]: 5 to 8) and the median post-treatment pain score was 2 (IQR: 0 to 4). Forty-eight percent of patients received IN sumatriptan in the ED, and 36% of those who received sumatriptan were prescribed oral sumatriptan at discharge. When intravenous (IV) access was obtained for headache management, this was associated with a significantly longer LOS and higher ED charges.

CONCLUSIONS

IN sumatriptan shows promise as a feasible and potentially effective first-line treatment for pediatric migraine in the ED that could reduce the need for IV therapies, shorten LOS, and lower ED charges. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of IN sumatriptan relative to other common first-line therapies used to treat pediatric migraine in the ED.

Acute Hospital Management of Pediatric Stroke

The field of pediatric stroke has historically been hampered by limited evidence and small patient cohorts. However the landscape of childhood stroke is rapidly changing due in part to increasing awareness of the importance of pediatric stroke and the emergence of dedicated pediatric stroke centers, care pathways, and alert systems. Acute pediatric stroke management hinges on timely diagnosis confirmed by neuroimaging, appropriate consideration of recanalization therapies, implementation of neuroprotective measures, and attention to secondary prevention. Because pediatric stroke is highly heterogenous in etiology, management strategies must be individualized. Determining a child's underlying stroke etiology is essential to appropriately tailoring hyperacute stroke management and determining best approach to secondary prevention. Herein, we review the methods of recognition, diagnosis, management, current knowledge gaps and promising research for pediatric stroke.

Disparities in the emergency department management of pediatric migraine by race, ethnicity, and language preference

BACKGROUND

There are disparities in pain management for children presenting to the emergency department (ED) according to their racial and ethnic backgrounds. It is not known if there are differences in the treatment of pain associated with pediatric migraines by race, ethnicity, and language for care (REaL).

METHODS

We analyzed treatment patterns and outcomes in our ED for acute migraine in pediatric patients by REaL. Retrospective data on treatments, length of stay (LOS), and charges were collected from the electronic medical record for pediatric patients on the ED migraine pathway from October 2016 to February 2020. Patient race/ethnicity and language for care were self-reported at registration. We analyzed two treatment groups: receipt of oral (PO) or intranasal (IN) medications only or intravenous (IV) ± IN/PO medications. A total of 833 patients (median age 14.8 years, interquartile range [IQR] 12.3-16.5 years; 67% female, 51% non-Hispanic White (nHW), 23% Hispanic, 8.3% Black or African American, 4.3% Asian) were included. A total of 287 received PO/IN medications only and 546 received IV medications.

RESULTS

Initial pain scores in the two groups were similar. Patients who were Asian, Black or African American, and Hispanic or had a language for care other than English (LOE) had significantly lower odds of receiving IV treatment, while patients who were nHW and preferred English had higher odds of receiving IV treatment. The IV treatment group had longer LOS and ED charges. Pediatric ED patients with migraine who were Black, Asian, and Hispanic or had a LOE had a decreased likelihood of receiving IV therapies while patients who were nHW were more likely to receive IV treatments, despite similar initial pain scores.

CONCLUSIONS

These data align with previous studies on pain management disparities and highlight another area where we must improve equity for patients in the ED.

Pediatric Headache in Primary Care and Emergency Departments: Consensus with RAND/UCLA Method

Headache is the most frequent neurological symptom in childhood and the main reason for admission to pediatric emergency departments. The aim of this consensus document is to define a shared clinical pathway between primary care pediatricians (PCP) and hospitals for the management of children presenting with headache. For the purposes of the study, a group of hospital pediatricians and a group of PCP from the Emilia Romagna’s health districts were selected to achieve consensus using the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method. Thirty-nine clinical scenarios were developed: for each scenario, participants were asked to rank the appropriateness of each option from 1 to 9. Agreement was reached if ≥75% of participants ranked within the same range of appropriateness. The answers, results, and discussion helped to define the appropriateness of procedures with a low level of evidence regarding different steps of the diagnostic-therapeutic process: primary care evaluation, emergency department evaluation, hospital admission, acute therapy, prophylaxis, and follow-up. The RAND proved to be a valid method to value appropriateness of procedures and define a diagnostic-therapeutic pathway suitable to the local reality in the management of pediatric headache. From our results, some useful recommendations were developed for optimizing the healthcare professionals’ network among primary care services and hospitals.

Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome in children: an update

Headaches are one of the most common neurologic complaints leading to emergency room visits in pediatric patients. Of the different type of headache presentations, thunderclap headaches require a particularly urgent work-up. In children, recurrent thunderclap headaches are more often associated with reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) than other etiologies such as subarachnoid hemorrhage. RCVS is a vascular disorder of incompletely understood etiology, characterized by diffuse vasoconstriction of the cerebral arterial vasculature, and commonly associated with recurrent severe headaches. Patients may experience focal neurological deficits, due to hemorrhages, infarcts, and even posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome . Although RCVS has been best characterized in adults, it does occur in children. This review summarizes the presentation of RCVS in children and highlights some of the differences with the adult population.

Approach to Pediatric Intractable Migraine

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Intractable migraine in children and adolescents is a significant cause of disability and decreased quality of life (QoL) in this population. Challenges include lack of unifying definition for intractable migraine, and limited data on best-practice management in this age group, with most current treatment pathways extrapolated from adult studies or expert consensus.

RECENT FINDINGS

A comprehensive approach in the evaluation and management of intractable migraine in this age group encompasses excluding secondary causes of headache; making an accurate diagnosis; identifying and appropriately managing modifiable risk factors; and initiating appropriate pharmacologic therapy to reduce disability, improve health-related quality of life, reduce risk of progression, and develop adaptive pain coping strategies. Several strategies for management of pediatric intractable migraine including use of acute medications, bridge therapy in outpatient setting, emerging therapies for preventive therapy, and a stepwise combination therapy for management of pediatric intractable migraine in emergency and inpatient setting are presented based on available clinical data, safety/tolerability, availability, cost-effectiveness, and expert consensus. This descriptive review of the available literature focuses on approach to therapy for acute intractable migraine in a pediatric population including outpatient, emergency department (ED), and inpatient management.

Rates of Presentation, Treatments and Serious Neurologic Disorders Among Children and Young Adults Presenting to US Emergency Departments With Headache

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate rates of presentation, neuroimaging, therapies, and serious neurologic disorders (SNDs) among children and young adults presenting to the emergency department with headache.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional study of a nationally representative sample survey of visits to US emergency departments between 2002 and 2017. We identified encounters of patients ≤25 years old with chief complaint of headache. We report the rates of presentation, imaging, and treatments and report proportions having concomitant diagnoses of serious neurologic disorders.

RESULTS

Among encounters ≤25 years, 2.0% had a chief complaint of headache, with no change in the yearly rates of encounters (P = .98). Overall, 20.8% had a head computed tomography (CT), with a reduction in performance between 2007 and 2016 (P < .01). One-quarter (25.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 22.2%-28.3%) were given narcotics and 2.5% (95% CI 1.7%-3.2%) had serious neurologic disorders.

CONCLUSION

Overall, 2.0% of emergency department encounters among patients ≤25 years were for headache, with low rates of serious neurologic disorders. CT use appeared to be declining.

Serious Diagnoses for Headaches After ED Discharge

BACKGROUND

Headache is a common complaint among children presenting to the emergency department (ED) and can be due to serious neurologic and nonneurologic diagnoses (SNNDs). We sought to characterize the children discharged from the ED with headache found to have SNNDs at revisits.

METHODS

We performed a multicenter retrospective cohort study using data from 45 pediatric hospitals from October 1, 2015, to March 31, 2019. We included pediatric patients (≤18 years) discharged from the ED with a principal diagnosis of headache, excluding patients with concurrent or previous SNNDs or neurosurgeries. We identified rates and types of SNNDs diagnosed within 30 days of initial visit and compared these rates with those of control groups defined as patients with discharge diagnoses of cough, chest pain, abdominal pain, and soft tissue complaints.

RESULTS

Of 121 621 included patients (57% female, median age 12.4 years, interquartile range: 8.8-15.4), 608 (0.5%, 95% confidence interval: 0.5%-0.5%) were diagnosed with SNNDs within 30 days. Most were diagnosed at the first revisit (80.8%); 37.5% were diagnosed within 7 days. The most common SNNDs were benign intracranial hypertension, cerebral edema and compression, and seizures. A greater proportion of patients with SNNDs underwent neuroimaging, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid testing compared with those without SNNDs (P < .001 for each). The proportion of SNNDs among patients diagnosed with headache (0.5%) was higher than for control cohorts (0.0%-0.1%) (P < .001 for each).

CONCLUSIONS

A total 0.5% of pediatric patients discharged from the ED with headache were diagnosed with an SNND within 30 days. Further efforts to identify at-risk patients remain a challenge.

Management of Childhood Headache in the Emergency Department. Review of the Literature

Headache is the third cause of visits to pediatric emergency departments (ED). According to a systematic review, headaches in children evaluated in the ED are primarily due to benign conditions that tend to be self-limiting or resolve with appropriate pharmacological treatment. The more frequent causes of non-traumatic headache in the ED include primitive headaches (21.8–66.3%) and benign secondary headaches (35.4–63.2%), whereas potentially life-threatening (LT) secondary headaches are less frequent (2–15.3%). Worrying conditions include brain tumors, central nervous system infections, dysfunction of ventriculo-peritoneal shunts, hydrocephalus, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and intracranial hemorrhage. In the emergency setting, the main goal is to intercept potentially LT conditions that require immediate medical attention. The initial assessment begins with an in-depth, appropriate history followed by a complete, oriented physical and neurological examination. The literature describes the following red flags requiring further investigation (for example neuroimaging) for recognition of LT conditions: abnormal neurological examination; atypical presentation of headaches: subjective vertigo, intractable vomiting or headaches that wake the child from sleep; recent and progressive severe headache (<6 months); age of the child <6 years; no family history for migraine or primary headache; occipital headache; change of headache; new headache in an immunocompromised child; first or worst headache; symptoms and signs of systemic disease; headaches associated with changes in mental status or focal neurological disorders. In evaluating a child or adolescent who is being treated for headache, physicians should consider using appropriate diagnostic tests. Diagnostic tests are varied, and include routine laboratory analysis, cerebral spinal fluid examination, electroencephalography, and computerized tomography or magnetic resonance neuroimaging. The management of headache in the ED depends on the patient's general conditions and the presumable cause of the headache. There are few randomized, controlled trials on pharmacological treatment of headache in the pediatric population. Only ibuprofen and sumatriptan are significantly more effective than placebo in determining headache relief.

Red flag findings in children with headaches: Prevalence and association with emergency department neuroimaging

BACKGROUND

Clinicians appear to obtain emergent neuroimaging for children with headaches based on the presence of red flag findings. However, little data exists regarding the prevalence of these findings in emergency department populations, and whether the identification of red flag findings is associated with potentially unnecessary emergency department neuroimaging.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to determine the prevalence of red flag findings and their association with neuroimaging in otherwise healthy children presenting with headaches to the emergency department. Our secondary aim was to determine the prevalence of emergent intracranial abnormalities in this population.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study of otherwise healthy children 2-17 years of age presenting to an urban pediatric emergency department with non-traumatic headaches was undertaken. Emergency department physicians completed a standardized form to document headache descriptors and characteristics, associated symptoms, and physical and neurological exam findings. Children who did not receive emergency department neuroimaging received 4-month telephone follow-up. Outcomes included emergency department neuroimaging and the presence of emergent intracranial abnormalities.

RESULTS

We enrolled 224 patients; 197 (87.9%) had at least one red flag finding on history. Several red flag findings were reported by more than a third of children, including: Headache waking from sleep (34.8%); headache present with or soon after waking (39.7%); or headaches increasing in frequency, duration and severity (40%, 33.1%, and 46.3%). Thirty-three percent of children received emergency department neuroimaging. The prevalence of emergent intracranial abnormalities was 1% (95% CI 0.1, 3.6). Abnormal neurological exam, extreme pain intensity of presenting headache, vomiting, and positional symptoms were independently associated with emergency department neuroimaging.

CONCLUSIONS

Red flag findings are common in children presenting with headaches to the emergency department. The presence of red flag findings is associated with emergency department neuroimaging, although the risk of emergent intracranial abnormalities is low. Many children with headaches may be receiving unnecessary neuroimaging due to the high prevalence of non-specific red flag findings.

A Modern Epidemic: Increasing Pediatric Emergency Department Visits and Admissions for Headache

OBJECTIVE

Headaches represent 0.9% to 2.6% of visits to a pediatric emergency department (PED). We noted a trend of increasing visits for headache in our tertiary care PED and sought to further characterize this trend.

METHODS

We identified PED visits with International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnoses for headache at 25 hospitals in Pediatric Health Information System between 2003 and 2013. To further characterize demographics and treatment trends over time we used the electronic health record in our emergency department to identify children ages four to 18 between January 2007 and December 2014 with International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision codes for headache: a random sample of 50 visits per year were chosen for chart review.

RESULTS

Pediatric Health Information System visits for headache increased by 166% (18,041 in 2003 and 48,020 in 2013); by comparison, total PED visits increased by 57.6%. The percent admission increased by 300% (2020 admissions in 2003 and 8087 admissions in 2013). At our hospital, headache visits increased 111% from 896 visits in 2007 to 1887 visits in 2014; total PED visits increased 30.2%. The admission percentage for headache increased 187% with 156 admissions in 2007 and 448 in 2014. Management over time differed in the frequency of head computed tomography which decreased 3.7% per year (r = -0.93, 95% CI -0.99, -0.64) from 34% in 2007 to 18% in 2014.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric emergency department visits for headache are increasing and a growing proportion of these patients are admitted. This finding identifies a potential patient population to target for interventions to improve outpatient management and reduce pediatric emergency department utilization.

Differentiating arterial ischaemic stroke from migraine in the paediatric emergency department

AIM

To estimate the strengths of association between clinical features and migraine or arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS) in children presenting to the emergency department.

METHOD

Eighty-four children with migraine, prospectively recruited from 2009 to 2010, were compared with 55 children with AIS, prospectively/retrospectively recruited from 2003 to 2010. Odds ratios were calculated via logistic regression to measure associations between clinical features and process-of-care factors, and migraine and AIS.

RESULTS

Median age was 13 years 5 months (interquartile range 12y 11mo-13y 10mo) for migraine and 5 years (interquartile range 3y 7mo-8y) for patients with AIS. All cases of AIS and 30% of migraine cases underwent neuroimaging. Over 40% of children with migraine had vomiting, numbness, or visual disturbance; other symptoms were uncommon. Fifty-five per cent had no signs on physician assessment. Weakness or speech disturbance were common in patients with AIS. Significant clinical features associated with increased odds of AIS included sudden symptom onset, weakness, seizures, speech disturbance, and ataxia, and signs of face, arm, or leg weakness, inability to walk, dysarthria, dysphasia, and altered consciousness (p<0.05). Significant features associated with decreased odds of AIS included older age, vomiting, visual, sensory, other symptoms, and absent focal signs on assessment (p<0.05).

INTERPRETATION

Presenting features can discriminate childhood AIS from migraine. These differences inform decisions about urgency and type of neuroimaging in children presenting to the emergency department with brain attack symptoms.

WHAT THE PAPER ADDS

Weakness, seizures, ataxia, speech, or walking difficulties are more frequent in arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS). Vomiting, visual, or sensory disturbance and absent focal signs are more frequent in migraine. Identifying features of AIS and migraine guides neuroimaging in children with brain attack symptoms.

PPIENSENLo: A Novel Mnemonics in Spanish for Alarm Criteria in Secondary Headaches in Children

We present the first mnemonic in Spanish, "PPIENSENLo," for alarm criteria in secondary headaches in children in order to facilitate their identification, diagnosis, and treatment. A search was performed across different electronic databases for a mnemonics that applied to clinical alarm criteria in secondary headaches in children. None were found in English or Spanish. This tool is perhaps useful both for clinical and teaching purposes.

Relative Effectiveness of Dopamine Antagonists for Pediatric Migraine in the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVE

Migraine headaches are common in the pediatric emergency department. The mainstay of abortive treatment consists of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and dopamine antagonists. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 3 commonly used dopamine antagonists to abort pediatric migraine.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients who presented to the pediatric emergency department at a tertiary care pediatric hospital between January 2010 and December 2013. Patients were treated for a migraine headache with a combination of ketorolac and one of the following dopamine antagonists: prochlorperazine, metoclopramide, or promethazine. The primary outcome was treatment failure and receiving non-evidence-based treatment defined by the need for opioids. Secondary outcomes included pain score reduction and return visit within 48 hours.

RESULTS

There were 57 patients during this period with 67 visits that met inclusion criteria: 27 (40.3%) visits in which patients were treated with prochlorperazine, 23 (34.3%) visits in which patients were treated with metoclopramide, and 17 (25.4%) visits in which patients were treated with promethazine. Across visits, the mean age was 14.5 years, and 63% were women. Opioids were given for treatment failure in 8.7% of visits in which patients received prochlorperazine, 25% in which patients received metoclopramide, and 42.8% in which patients received promethazine. Patients treated with promethazine had significantly higher odds of needing opioids and experiencing less than 50% reduction in pain score compared with prochlorperazine after adjusting for patient characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests variable efficacy among 3 commonly used dopamine antagonists for pediatric migraine headache. Promethazine seems least effective and results in higher use of opioids compared with other available dopamine antagonists.