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Emergency room treatment of migraine headache

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Opinion statement

  • Headache is the chief complaint in the emergency room in between 0.36% and 2.5% of patients.

  • It is essential that the headache diagnosis be established to rule-out a potentially morbid disorder, as well as facilitate selection of appropriate interventions.

  • Referral with follow-up care is essential to patients with frequent headaches in order to prevent repeat emergency room visits and possible narcotic dependency.

  • Two stages define emergency room treatment of any form of headache—initial stabilization and treatment (which may be started in the emergency room).

  • Despite the introduction of migraine-specific therapy in 1993, only a minority of migraine headache patients are prescribed this treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Diamond Headache Clinic, 467 West Deming Place, Suite 500, 60614, Chicago, IL, USA

    Merle L. Diamond MD, FACEP

Authors
  1. Merle L. Diamond MD, FACEP
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Diamond, M.L. Emergency room treatment of migraine headache. Curr Treat Options Neurol 4, 351–356 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-002-0045-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-002-0045-x

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