The use of neuroimaging in the management of chronic headache in children in clinical practice versus clinical practice guidelines.

The use of neuroimaging in the management of chronic headache in children in clinical practice versus clinical practice guidelines. Acta Clin Croat. 2014 Dec;53(4):449-54 Authors: Prpić I, Ahel T, Rotim K, Gajski D, Vukelić P, Sasso A Abstract In daily practice, neuroimaging studies are frequently performed for the management of childhood headache. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is significant discrepancy between clinical practice and clinical practice guidelines on the indications for neuroimaging studies. Medical records of children with chronic headache, aged 2 to 18 years and treated at Rijeka University Hospital Center, Kantrida Department of Pediatrics, were retrospectively reviewed. Indications for brain magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography (MRI/CT) scanning were reviewed and compared with clinical practice guidelines. Brain imaging was performed in 164 (76.3%) of 215 children, MRI in 93 (56.7%) and CT in 71 (43.3%) children. Indications for brain MRI/CT were as follows: anxiety and/or insistence by the child's family (71.3%), presence of associated features suggesting neurologic dysfunction (13.4%), age under 5 years (12.8%) and abnormal neurologic examination (2.4%). The majority of children (71.4%) had normal neuroimaging findings. In the rest of imaging studies (28.1%), MRI/CT revealed different intracerebral/extracerebral findings not influencing changes in headache management. Only o...
Source: Acta Clinica Croatica - Category: Journals (General) Tags: Acta Clin Croat Source Type: research