COVID-19 lockdown attack on headache emergency admissions: a multidisciplinary retrospective study

Background: During the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, it was observed a reduction in emergency department (ED) attendances due to non-SARS-COV-2-related acute/chronic conditions. Objective: To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on patients reporting headache as the principal presenting symptom on admission to the ED of the tertiary care University Hospital of Trieste over the relevant period. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the frequency, features, and management of ED attendances for headache during the COVID-19 lockdown from 8 March to 31 May 2020, comparing it with the pre-lockdown period (January–February 2020) and the first 5 months of 2019. Results: A reduction in ED total attendances was observed in the first 5 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 (21.574 and 30.364, respectively; − 29%), in particular with respect to headache-related attendances (174 and 339 respectively; − 49%). During the COVID-19 lockdown, it was recorded a minor reduction in the ED access rate of female patients (p = 0.03), while no significant variation was detected in repeaters’ prevalence, diagnostic assessment, and acute treatment. The ratio of not otherwise specified, secondary, and primary headaches (48.4%, 30.6%, and 21.0% respectively) remained unchanged during the COVID-19 lockdown, in comparison to the control periods. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the number of ED attendances for headache but not their management and setting. Despite a reduction of accesses for headache due to the pandemic emergency, the distribution of headache subtypes and the rate of repeaters did not change.