Table 1.
Characteristics of 1999 patients enrolled in study. Figures are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristics | No of patients |
|---|---|
| Mean (SD) age (years) | 43.4 (17.1) |
| Age range (years) | 16-93 |
| Female | 1207 (60.4) |
| Arrival by ambulance | 387 (19.4) |
| Transfer from another emergency department | 172 (8.6) |
| Mean (SD) duration of headache (hours) at time of assessment | 8.8 (10.1) |
| Mean (SD) time from onset to peak (minutes) | 8.8 (17.5) |
| Mean (SD) pain severity at peak (scale 0-10) | 8.6 (1.9) |
| Onset during exertion | 228 (11.5) |
| Onset during sexual activity | 118 (6.0) |
| Headache awoke patient from sleep | 369 (18.7) |
| Worst headache of life | 1546 (78.5) |
| Loss of consciousness | 106 (5.3) |
| Witnessed loss of consciousness | 62 (63.9) |
| Complaint of neck stiffness or pain | 661 (33.5) |
| Vomiting | 558 (28.4) |
| Patient had neck stiffness with flexion and extension | 130 (6.9) |
| Mean (SD) heart rate (beats/min) | 80.1 (15.4) |
| Mean (SD) systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 142.6 (24.9) |
| Mean (SD) diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 81.3 (13.6) |
| Diagnostic procedures and disposition | |
| Computed tomography | 1606 (80.3) |
| Lumbar puncture | 905 (45.3) |
| Computed tomography or lumbar puncture | 1657 (82.9) |
| Both computed tomography and lumbar puncture | 854 (42.7) |
| Cerebral angiography* | 167 (8.4) |
| Admitted to hospital | 204 (10.2) |
| Died | 12 (0.6) |
| Final diagnosis | |
| Benign headache | 1011 (54.1) |
| Migraine headache | 510 (27.3) |
| Subarachnoid haemorrhage | 130 (6.5) |
| Viral illness | 85 (4.3) |
| Ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack | 34 (1.8) |
| Postcoital headache | 28 (1.5) |
| Sinusitis | 26 (1.4) |
| Vasovagal syncope | 23 (1.2) |
| Neck strain | 16 (0.8) |
| Brain tumour | 7 (0.4) |
| Hypoglycaemia | 4 (0.2) |
| Intracerebral haemorrhage | 4 (0.2) |
| Subdural haematoma | 2 (0.1) |
| Bacterial meningitis | 1 (0.05) |
| Other benign cause† | 117 (5.6) |
*Computed tomography angiography, magnetic resonance angiography, or digital subtraction cerebral angiography.
†None of diagnoses in this category were of clinical concern for morbidity or mortality.