Analysis of brain scan findings requested from individuals visiting the emergency department outpatient clinic with headache.

Objective: Many patients visit the emergency department with headaches. The most crucial point in patient management is detecting secondary headaches. Accurate history, detailed physical examination, and appropriate neuroimaging are essential for diagnosis. This study aimed to examine the compatibility of neuroimaging findings with the symptoms of patients presenting to the emergency department with non-traumatic headaches.

Methods: The data regarding the reasons for application, demographic information, accompanying symptoms, and neuroimaging results of patients who visited the green area of Goztepe Prof. Dr. Suleyman Yalcin City Hospital Emergency Medicine Clinic with headache complaints from June 2022 to June 2023 were analyzed.

Results: The study included 4,908 individuals, with 38.33% identifying as male and 61.67% as female. The mean age was 42.34±19.13 years. Additionally, 75.28% of participants experienced issues beyond headaches, while 78.71% had no prior medical diagnoses. High blood pressure was the most reported condition, affecting 6.66% of those studied. Among the patients, 23.68% were advised to undergo a non-contrast CT scan, and 96.78% did not require further imaging. Thirty-two individuals (0.65%) were found to have underlying conditions that could lead to secondary headaches. Among these, 27 cases (84.37%) showed no additional symptoms (p=0.0001). A total of 99.61% of individuals were discharged from the emergency room. The age distribution did not correlate with the identified pathologies responsible for secondary headaches (p=0.058).

Conclusion: Our neuroimaging rates exceeded those found in the literature. Women were more likely to visit the emergency department for headaches. Three out of five patients experienced additional symptoms, predominantly hypertension. Approximately four out of five patients had no previous diagnosis. CT scanning was considered the gold standard for diagnosis. The occurrence of secondary headaches and associated symptoms was low. There was no correlation between increasing age and secondary headaches.