Society guideline links: Adult with headache in the emergency department

Introduction — This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Migraine and other primary headache disorders" and "Society guideline links: Post dural puncture headache".)

Canada

●Canadian Headache Society (CHS): Systematic review and recommendations on the treatment of migraine pain in emergency settings (2014)

United States

●American College of Radiology (ACR): ACR Appropriateness Criteria on headache (revised 2022)

●American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): Clinical policy – Critical issues in the evaluation and management of adult patients presenting to the emergency department with acute headache (2019)

●American Headache Society (AHS): Management of adults with acute migraine in the emergency department – Evidence assessment of parenteral pharmacotherapies (2016)

Europe

●European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS): Report on treatment of miscellaneous idiopathic headache disorders (group 4 of the IHS classification) (2011)

United Kingdom

●Choosing Wisely UK: Royal College of Emergency Medicine – A clinician should discuss the need for a lumbar puncture for a patient suspected of having a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage if a CT is performed within 6 hours of the start of the headache (2018)

●Guidelines in Emergency Medicine Network (GEMNet): Guideline for the management of lone acute severe headache (2009)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Choosing Wisely Japan: CT test when you hit your head – When you need it and when you don't (updated 2016)