ArticleHeadache2022
Short-term stroke risk after emergency department treat-and-release headache visit.
Article in Headache, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative effects of drug interventions for the acute management of migraine episodes in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Pooled it
- Diagnostic Performance of Mobile Low-Field MRI and CT for Acute Headache as the Isolated Clinical Manifestation in the Neurology Emergency Department.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Triptans for Migraine: Balancing Potential Vascular Risk With Meaningful Benefit.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Article
- Pre-stroke emergency department utilization in the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project.The American journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
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10 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate whether patients discharged to home after an emergency department (ED) visit for headache face a heightened short-term risk of stroke.
backgroundStroke hospitalizations that occur soon after ED visits for headache complaints may reflect diagnostic error.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study using statewide administrative claims data for all ED visits and admissions at nonfederal hospitals in Florida 2005-2018 and New York 2005-2016. Using standard International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes, we identified adult patients discharged to home from the ED (treat-and-release visit) with a benign headache diagnosis (cohort of interest) as well as those with a diagnosis of renal colic or back pain (negative controls). The primary study outcome was hospitalization within 30 days for stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) defined using validated ICD codes. We assess the relationship between index ED visit discharge diagnosis and stroke hospitalization adjusting for patient demographics and vascular comorbidities.
resultsWe identified 1,502,831 patients with an ED treat-and-release headache visit; mean age was 41 (standard deviation: 17) years and 1,044,520 (70%) were female. A total of 2150 (0.14%) patients with headache were hospitalized for stroke within 30 days. In adjusted analysis, stroke risk was higher after headache compared to renal colic (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.29-3.16) or back pain (HR: 4.0; 95% CI: 3.74-4.3). In the subgroup of 26,714 (1.78%) patients with headache who received brain magnetic resonance imaging at index ED visit, stroke risk was only slightly elevated compared to renal colic (HR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.22-1.78) or back pain (HR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.24-1.80).
conclusionApproximately 1 in 700 patients discharged to home from the ED with a headache diagnosis had a stroke in the following month. Stroke risk was three to four times higher after an ED visit for headache compared to renal colic or back pain.
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