“Worst Headache of Life” in a Migraineur: Marginal Value of Emergency Department CT Scanning

The ACR Appropriateness Criteria recommend performing noncontrast head CT (NCCT) for patients with sudden severe headache ( “worst headache of life” [WHOL] or “thunderclap headache” [TCH]). The aim of this study was to assess the value of NCCT scanning in patients with known migraine histories and WHOL or TCH. The hypothesis was that there would be little utility in performing emergency department (ED) NCCT scans in migraineurs without other red flags, even if they had WHOL or TCH.

Source: Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR - January 17, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Sadaf Sahraian, Elham Beheshtian, Arya Haj-Mirzaian, Matthew D. Alvin, David M. Yousem Tags: Original article Source Type: research