Evaluation of acute headache in adults

Last reviewed: 11 Sep 2025
Last updated: 29 Jul 2025

Summary

Differentials

Common

  • Tension headache
  • Migraine
  • Acute sinusitis
  • Otitis media
  • Menstrual headache
  • Medication withdrawal
  • Medication overuse headache
  • Cervical paraspinal muscle tenderness
  • Dental caries/wisdom tooth impaction
  • Temporomandibular disorders
  • Acute hydrocephalus
Full details

Uncommon

  • idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri)
  • Brain tumor
  • Hypertensive encephalopathy
  • Eclampsia/preeclampsia
  • Pituitary apoplexy
  • Venous sinus thrombosis
  • Epidural hematoma
  • Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)
  • Subdural hematoma
  • Meningitis
  • Brain abscess
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning
  • Concussive syndrome/trauma
  • Acute mountain sickness/hypoxia
  • Cluster headaches
  • Paroxysmal hemicrania
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Acute angle-closure glaucoma
  • Giant cell arteritis
  • Zika virus infection
  • Chikungunya
  • Dengue fever
  • Stroke
Full details

Contributors

Authors

Meika T. Neblett, MD, MS

Associate Director

Department of Emergency Medicine

Saint Luke's Cornwall Hospital

Newburgh

NY

Disclosures

MTN declares that she has no competing interests.

Peer reviewers

Shuhan Zhu, MD

Member of the Faculty

Brigham Women's Hospital

Boston

MA

Disclosures

SZ declares that she has no competing interests.

Paul Hamilton, MD

Director

Department of Emergency Medicine

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

New York

NY

Disclosures

PH declares that he has no competing interests.

Sheldon Jacobson, MD, FACP, FACEP

Chairman

Department of Emergency Medicine

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

New York

NY

Declarações

SJ declares that he has no competing interests.

Eirik Helseth, MD, PhD

Senior Neurosurgeon

Oslo University Hospital

Professor

University of Oslo

Oslo

Norway

Declarações

EH declares that he has no competing interests.

Peer reviewer acknowledgements

BMJ Best Practice topics are updated on a rolling basis in line with developments in evidence and guidance. The peer reviewers listed here have reviewed the content at least once during the history of the topic.

Disclosures

Peer reviewer affiliations and disclosures pertain to the time of the review.

Referências

Nossas equipes internas de editoria e de evidências trabalham em conjunto com colaboradores internacionais especializados e pares revisores para garantir que forneçamos acesso às informações o mais clinicamente relevantes possível.

Principais artigos

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. ​Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management. Jun 2025 [internet publication].Texto completo

American College of Radiology. ACR appropriateness criteria®: headache. 2022 [internet publication].Texto completo  Resumo

Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The international classification of headache disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia. 2018 Jan;38(1):1-211.Texto completo

Artigos de referência

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