Demographics and characteristics of US emergency department (ED) visits for headache-related conditions, 1998–2008
| N* | Headache-related ED visits, ×103 (95% CI) | Proportion of ED visits, % (95% CI) | |
| Overall reason for visit | 15 062 | 53 973 (49 808 to 58 137) | 100 |
| Headache | 11 732 | 41 674 (38 384 to 44 964) | 77.2 (76.2 to 78.2) |
| Migraine | 2006 | 76 043 (68 045 to 84 042) | 14.2 (13.1 to 15.2) |
| Facial pain | 1132 | 3949 (3524 to 4374) | 7.3 (6.7 to 7.9) |
| Sinus headache | 399 | 1471 (12 046 to 16 096) | 2.7 (2.3 to 3.1) |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 10 202 | 37 104 (34 127 to 40 081) | 68.7 (67.7 to 69.8) |
| Male | 4860 | 16 868 (15 520 to 18 217) | 31.3 (30.2 to 32.3) |
| Age | |||
| <18 | 2072 | 7642 (6833 to 8450) | 14.2 (13.2 to 15.1) |
| 18–49 | 9806 | 35 127 (32 057 to 38 197) | 65.1 (62.7 to 67.5) |
| ≥50 | 3184 | 11 204 (10 306 to 12 102) | 20.8 (19.8 to 21.7) |
| Race/Ethnicity | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 7949 | 29 490 (26 613 to 32 366) | 63.6 (61.1 to 66.0) |
| Black | 3131 | 10 876 (9490 to 12 262) | 23.4 (21.3 to 25.6) |
| Hispanic | 1707 | 5038 (4435 to 5641) | 10.9 (9.4 to 12.3) |
| Other | 382 | 998 (797 to 1198) | 2.2 (1.7 to 2.6) |
| Insurance status | |||
| Private | 6073 | 22 121 (20 378 to 23 863) | 43.5 (41.8 to 45.2) |
| Government or work | 5178 | 18 175 (16 477 to 19 873) | 35.7 (34.2 to 37.3) |
| Self-pay | 2441 | 8905 (7989 to 9820) | 17.5 (16.4 to 18.6) |
| Other | 515 | 1678 (1345 to 2001) | 3.3 (2.7 to 3.9) |
| Mode of arrival | |||
| Walk-in | 10 354 | 38 824 (35 131 to 42 517) | 92.2 (91.5 to 92.9) |
| Ambulance | 842 | 2835 (2466 to 3204) | 6.7 (6.0 to 7.4) |
| Public service | 141 | 453 (324 to 582) | 1.1 (0.8 to 1.4) |
| Triage immediacy | |||
| <15 min | 1868 | 6766 (5945 to 7587) | 15.3 (13.7 to 16.8) |
| 15–60 min | 5873 | 20 880 (18 442 to 23 318) | 47.1 (44.4 to 49.8) |
| >1–2 h | 3111 | 10 982 (9754 to 12 209) | 24.8 (22.7 to 26.9) |
| >2–24 h | 1580 | 5712 (5000 to 6425) | 12.9 (11.3 to 14.4) |
| Disposition | |||
| Admitted | 1055 | 3597 (3178 to 4015) | 6.7 (6.1 to 7.3) |
| Discharged | 13 363 | 48 083 (44 332 to 54 834) | 89.7 (89.0 to 90.4) |
| Other (eg, patient left) | 526 | 1884 (16 032 to 21 036) | 3.5 (3.1 to 3.9) |
↵* Total number of visits (×103) estimated from number of weighted NHAMCS patient records (N), 1998–2008. Data regarding mode of arrival not available from survey years 2001–2.