Patient and headache characteristics of 102 patients with sudden severe headache
| ASAH | PMH | BTH | RR (95% CI) ASAH v BTH | RR ( 95% CI) ASAH and PMH v BTH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | 42 | 23 | 37 | ||
| Female sex | 24 (57%) | 6 (26%) | 13 (35%) | 1.6 (1.0–2.7) | 1.3 (0.8–2.2) |
| Age (y ( mean (SD)) | 49 (14) | 56 (11) | 36 (13) | ||
| Exertion/Valsalva-like manoeuvre at onset | 21 (50%) | 9 (39%) | 8 (22%) | 2.3 (1.2–4.6) | 2.1 (1.1–4.2) |
| Feeling of a “burst“ | 5 (12%) | 1 (4%) | 5 (14%) | — | — |
| Onset of headache:1-150 | |||||
| Almost instantaneous | 21 (50%) | 8 (35%) | 25 (68%) | 0.7 (0.5–1.1) | 0.7 (0.5–0.9) |
| 2–60 s | 10 (24%) | 6 (26%) | 2 (5%) | — | — |
| 1–5 min | 8 (19%) | 8 (35%) | 7 (19%) | 1.0 (0.4–2.5) | 1.3 (0.6–2.9) |
| >5 min | 1 (4%) | 1 (3%) | |||
| Severity score of present headache (0–10; median (range))1-151 | 10 (7–10) | 10 (7–10) | 9 (7–10) | ||
| Number of patients with frequent previous headaches | 16 (38%) | 8 (35%) | 21 (57%) | 0.7 (0.4–1.1) | 0.7 (0.4–1.1) |
| Severity score frequent previous headache (0–10; median (range)) | 6 (4–10) | 5 (1–9) | 4 (1–7) | ||
| Nausea | 32 (76%) | 19 (83%) | 28 (76%) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) |
| Vomiting | 29 (69%) | 19 (83%) | 16 (43%) | 1.6 (1.1–2.4) | 1.7 (1.1–2.5) |
| Preceding headache resembling the present headache | 8 (19%) | 1 (4%) | 5 (14%) | — | — |
| Seizure1-152 | 3 (7%) | — | — | ||
| Transient loss or clouding of consciousness1-152 | 11 (26%) | 1 (4%) | 6 (16%) | 1.6 (0.7–3.9) | 1.1 (0.5–2.8) |
| Transient focal symptoms1-152 | 14 (33%) | 2 (9%) | 8 (22%) | 1.5 (0.7–3.3) | 1.1 (0.5–2.4) |
ASAH=aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage; PMH=perimesencephalic haemorrhage; BTH=benign thunderclap headache; RR=relative risk; 95% CI=confidence interval.
↵1-150 Onset of headache occurred in one patient with ASAH and two patients with BTH during waking up; two patients with ASAH could not describe onset of headache.
↵1-151 37 patients (88%) with SAH and 34 patients (92%) with BTH could give a severity score for the present headache.
↵1-152 11 patients had more than one symptom.
— For several characteristics no relative risks could be calculated because of small numbers.