GPs' classification of headache: is primary headache underdiagnosed?
Authors: Kernick, David1; Stapley, Sally2; Hamilton, William2
Source: British Journal of General Practice, Volume 58, Number 547, February 2008 , pp. 102-104(3)
Publisher: Royal College of General Practitioners
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Abstract:
With a high economic, social, and personal burden, headache remains an important health problem. How UK GPs diagnose headache in the UK is unknown. In this study, a large primary care database was used and diagnostic categories were described for 91 121 adult patients with new-onset headache, that is, patients who had not consulted for headache in the previous year. Seventy per cent of headaches were not given a diagnostic label, 24% were diagnosed as primary, and 6% as secondary headaches. It is suggested that GPs' difficulty in diagnosing headache presentations contributes to the high level of morbidity and unmet need in this disease.Keywords: diagnosis; headache; primary care
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.3399/bjgp08X264072
Affiliations: 1: British Association for the Study of Headache, Department of Neurology, Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull 2: Caper Research Practices, Exeter; Department of Community Based Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol
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