Headache: When to Worry

Headaches are a common emergency department presentation, and workup should focus on looking for potentially dangerous etiologies. In this paper, the authors review causes of non-benign headache, including cervical artery dissection, cerebral venous thrombosis, pseudotumor cerebri, hypertensive encephalopathy, acute angle glaucoma, hydrocephalus, giant cell arteritis, meningitis, and subarachnoid hemorrhage.