It only takes one subarachnoid hemorrhage misdiagnosed as a headache to cause a nightmare for an emergency physician.

That is one reason Matthew Siket, MD, FACEP, is presenting “Stop the Pounding: Update on Headache Assessment and Treatment” today.

“Most of the time when we see a headache, it’s going to be a benign cause,” said Dr. Siket, co-director of the emergency center stroke centers at Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals in Providence. “Every once in a while, we’re going to run into a really dangerous cause. And we need to be prepared for when that comes so that we don’t miss it.”

Dr. Siket will talk about current guidelines for acute migraine treatment, management of headache syndromes, and inappropriate imaging. The last topic is part of a national discussion of decreasing imaging utilization for benign headaches. “The problem for us is that we’re in a catch-22 because we don’t know that the headache is benign until we’ve done our workup,” Dr. Siket said.

The session will give attendees an opportunity to hear the latest research from the emergency medicine and neurology literature, Dr. Siket said. “What have we learned from research in terms of predictors of badness and what does the data tell us are real clinical predictors of the dangerous causes?” he said. “What do we make of the thunderclap headache? What do we do when this is an abrupt and severe headache rather than sort of a gradually worsening headache?”

Matthew Siket, MD, FACEP

Stop the Pounding:

Update on Headache Assessment and Treatment
Tuesday, Oct. 31
9–9:25 a.m.
WCC, Room 146B