Headaches Flashcards
What is the most common presenting symptom in family and emergency medicine?
Headache
What are the two main headache issues that bring patients in?
Severity
Chronicity
What are the characteristic of pain (quality) which you should look for in headache?
Throbbing with heart beat then its vascular
Steady pressure or ache it is most likely muscular
What should you do for all new onset headache pts?
Complete neurological examination
Ophthalmoscopy of retina
What should be done if the neuro test is positive?
Refer to a neurologist and neurosurgeon
If the headache is always in the same place what should you think?
Local disease ex:
Sinusitis, brain tumor, arteriovenous malformation, circle of Willis aneurysm
If a pt is 50 or older complaining of headache what possible etiologies should you think about?
Temporal arteritis
Brain tumor
If a pt is 50 or older complaining of headache what exams should be done?
Neurologic
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
MRI or CT brain scan
Which type of imaging exam is often the first image obtained in headache with a potentially life threatening diagnosis?
CT scan
What are some things a CT scan will miss in terms of vascular disease?
Aneurysm, malformations, hemorrhage, artery dissection, infarction, thrombosis, vasculitis, hematomas
More things a CT scan can miss of neoplastic diesase?
Meningeal carcinomatosis
Pituitary Tumor and hemorrhage
What things will a CT miss in termds of a cervicomeduallary lesion?
Chiari malformations
Foramen magnus tumors
What things will a CT scan miss in terms of infections?
Paranasal sinuses
Meningoencephalitis
Cerebritis and brain abscess
What possibilities should be considered is the headache is sudden onset?
Subarachnoid hemorrhage
Pituitary apoplexy
Bleed into tumor or arteriovenous malformation
Posterior fossa brain tumor
What tests should be done if a pt complains of sudden onset headache?
MRI/MRA
CT scan
Lumbar puncture for CSF evaluation
If the onset of the headache occurred during extension what should you expect?
Possbility of leaking cerebral aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation
Do complete neurological exam
What is the mortality rate of aneurysm?
70-90%
What is a pituitary apoplexy?
Sudden massive degeneration with hemorrhagic necrosis of the pituitary gland
Associated with a pituitary tumor
Signaled by abrupt headache, followed by loss of sight, diplopia, drowsiness, confusion or other mentally deranged states and coma
Is a pts headache diary, what should they keep track of?
Accelerating pattern of headaches (more frequent more severe)
In the event of frequency and severity what could an accelerating pattern of headaches and what should be done?
Brain tumor
Subdural hematoma
Medication overuse
MRI/MRA and Drug history/drug screen
Meningitis
Infection of the meninges
Encephalitis
Infection of the brain substance
What should you suspect if a cancer pt has a headache and what tests should be done?
Meningitis (chronic, carcinomatous)
Brain abscess (toxoplasmosis)
Metastasis
MRI/MRA and lumbar puncture for CSF analysis
What should you suspect in a pt with new headache who has presents with fever, stiff neck or rash?
Meningitis Encephalitis Lyme Disease Systemic Infection Connective Tissue Disease