More than a quarter of initial emergency department (ED) visits for migraine are followed by headache revisits in less than 6 months, a recent study found. Using the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Syndromic Surveillance database, researchers conducted a retrospective nested cohort study. They analyzed visits from 18 New York City EDs with discharge diagnoses in the first 6 months of 2015, and conducted descriptive analyses to determine the frequency of headache revisit within 6 months of an index ED visit for migraine and the elapsed time to revisit. They found:
- Of 1052 ED visits with an ED discharge diagnosis of migraine during the first 6 months of 2015, 277 patients (26.3%) had a headache revisit within 6 months of their initial migraine visit and 131 (12.5%) had 2 or more revisits at the same hospital.
- Of the revisits for headache, 9% occurred within 72 hours and 46% occurred within 90 days of the initial migraine visit.
- Sex, age, and poverty level were not associated with an ED revisit.
A retrospective nested cohort study of emergency department revisits for migraine in New York City. [Published online ahead of print November 2, 2017]. Headache. doi:10.1111/head.13216.