Characteristics of enrolled patients (N=1561)
| Characteristics | Patients | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) (range) | 53 (21) (16–98) | |
| Women | 912 | 58.4% |
| Onset during exertion | 312 | 20.0% |
| Onset during rest | 1131 | 72.5% |
| Headache awoke patient from sleep | 55 | 3.5% |
| Duration from onset | ||
| ∼60 min | 297 | 19.0% |
| ∼24 hours | 863 | 55.3% |
| ∼7 days | 342 | 21.9% |
| 1 week ∼ | 58 | 3.7% |
| Worst headache of life | 274 | 17.6% |
| Thunderclap headache | 37 | 2.4% |
| Alteration of consciousness level | 151 | 9.7% |
| Neck pain or stiffness | 1095 | 70.1% |
| Vomiting | 442 | 28.3% |
| Vertigo/dizziness | 206 | 13.2% |
| History of hypertension | 374 | 24.0% |
| History of diabetes mellitus | 118 | 7.6% |
| Heart rate, mean (SD) beats/min | 79 | (17) |
| Blood pressure, mean (SD) mm Hg | ||
| Systolic | 144 | (33) |
| Diastolic | 83 | (19) |
| Body temperature, mean (SD) °C | 36.6 | (0.8) |
| Diagnostic procedures | ||
| CT | 1474 | 94.4% |
| MRI | 66 | 4.2% |
| Lumbar puncture | 40 | 2.6% |
| No CT, lumbar puncture or MRI | 87 | 5.6% |
| Discharged from emergency department | 1010 | 64.7% |
| Final diagnosis | ||
| Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) | 369 | 23.6% |
| Subarachnoid haemorrhage | 277 | 17.7% |
| Other CVD | 92 | 5.9% |
| Other neurological disease | 715 | 45.8% |
| Migraine headache | 133 | 8.5% |
| Tension headache | 61 | 3.9% |
| Cluster headache | 12 | 0.8% |
| Unclassified benign headache | 438 | 28.1% |
| Meningitis | 17 | 1.1% |
| Postseizure headache | 15 | 1.0% |
| Neuralgia | 10 | 0.6% |
| Brain tumour | 7 | 0.4% |
| Viral illness | 60 | 3.8% |
| Psychiatric disease | 47 | 3.0% |
| Hypertensive crisis | 38 | 2.4% |
| Peripheral vertigo | 37 | 2.4% |
| Gastrointestinal disease | 22 | 1.4% |
| Sinusitis | 16 | 1.0% |
| Hyperventilation | 16 | 1.0% |
| Urinary tract infection | 16 | 1.0% |
| Dehydration | 15 | 1.0% |
| Respiratory disease | 14 | 0.9% |
| Syncope | 10 | 0.6% |
| Cervical spondylosis | 10 | 0.6% |
| Other non-neurological disease | 176 | 11.3% |