title: Headache caused by serious illness. Evaluation in an emergency setting.
abstract: Severe headache is a common problem among patients in the emergency facility. Because early therapy reduces deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage, the physician must use advanced technological and sometimes invasive tests to diagnose this serious condition in patients with equivocal signs and symptoms. In patients with meningitis, the physician must assume there will be only one opportunity to make the correct diagnosis. Because patients often seek emergency care early in the course of meningitis, when accurate detection on clinical grounds is more difficult, a conservative approach and liberal use of all appropriate diagnostic techniques are essential.
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008581:Meningitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D013129:Spinal Puncture; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed