Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to compare acute primary headache patient outcomes in those initially treated with parenteral opiates or non-opiate recommended headache medications in a large academic medical emergency department (ED). BACKGROUND: Many acute primary headache patients are not diagnosed with a specific headache type and are treated with opiates and nonspecific pain medications in the ED setting. This is inconsistent with multiple expert recommendations. METHODS: Electronic charts were reviewed from 574 consecutive patients who visited the ED for acute primary headache (identified by chief complaint and ICD9 codes) and were treated with parenteral medications. RESULTS: Non-opiate recommended headache medications were given first line to 52.6% and opiates to 22.8% of all participants. Patients given opiates first had significantly longer length of stays (median 5.0 vs. 3.9 hours, p < 0.001) and higher rates of return ED visits within seven days (7.6% vs. 3.0%, p = 0.033) compared with those given non-opiate recommended medications in univariate analysis. Only the association with longer length of stay remained significant in multivariable regression including possible confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: Initial opiate use is associated with longer length of stay compared with non-opiate first-line recommended medications for acute primary headache in the ED. This association remained strong and significant even after multivariable adjustment for headache diagnosis and other possible confounders.