title: Migraine diagnosis and management in general emergency departments in France.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We conducted a prospective study of patients admitted to 22 general emergency departments in France over 1 week.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 15,835 adult patients, 483 (3.1%) had headache and 98 (0.6%) had migraine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the migraine population in France, our migraine patients were similar in terms of proportion of female patients (75%) and mean age (37.6 ± 13.8 years) but presented earlier in their disease course. Patients sought emergency treatment because of a severe attack (49%) or because of ineffective treatment (20%). Non-opioid analgesics excluding non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and NSAIDs, were most commonly prescribed as acute treatment, yet it took more than 48 h for symptom resolution in 36% of 92 follow-up patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest there is room for improvement in choice of agents prescribed. We propose additional education and training of clinicians to improve adherence to clinical practice guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Urgences Céphalées, Hôpital Lariboisière, France. dominique.valade@lrb.aphp.fr
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Valade
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calvel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Plaisance
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Derouet
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meric
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanteri-Minet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giroud
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019468:Disease Management; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000639:trends; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult