BrainWaves #8 Headache like a clap of thunder

MedLink Neurology Podcast is delighted to feature selected episodes from BrainWaves, courtesy of James E Siegler MD, its originator and host. BrainWaves is an academic audio podcast whose mission is to educate medical providers through clinical cases and topical reviews in neurology, medicine, and the humanities, and episodes originally aired from 2016 to 2021. Originally released July 18, 2017 Dr. Pouya Khankhanian describes his experience with "worst headache of life." A harbinger of head pathology, thunderclap headache should be quickly and meticulously addressed in order to prevent life-threatening neurologic disease. BrainWaves podcasts and online content are intended for medical education only and should not be used to guide medical decision-making in routine clinical practice. Any cases discussed in this episode are fictional and do not contain any patient health-identifying information. The content in this episode was vetted and approved by Roderick Spears. REFERENCESEdlow JA, Caplan LR. Avoiding pitfalls in the diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage. N Engl J Med. 2000 Jan 6;342(1):29-36. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200001063420106. PMID 10620647Linn FH, Wijdicks EF, van der Graaf Y, Weerdesteyn-van Vliet FA, Bartelds AI, van Gijn J. Prospective study of sentinel headache in aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. Lancet 1994;344(8922):590-3. PMID 7914965Misra UK, Kalita J, Chandra S, Kumar B, Bansal V. Low molecular weight heparin versus unfractionated heparin in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis: a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Neurol 2012;19(7):1030-6. PMID 22416902Muehlschlegel S, Kursun O, Topcuoglu MA, Fok J, Singhal AB. Differentiating reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome with subarachnoid hemorrhage from other causes of subarachnoid hemorrhage. JAMA Neurol 2013;70(10):1254-60. PMID 23939614Sames TA, Storrow AB, Finkelstein JA, Magoon MR. Sensitivity of new-generation computed tomography in subarachnoid hemorrhage. Acad Emerg Med 1996;3(1):16-20. PMID 8749962Schwedt TJ, Matharu MS, Dodick DW. Thunderclap headache. Lancet Neurol 2006;5(7):621-31. PMID 16781992van der Wee N, Rinkel GJ, Hasan D, van Gijn J. Detection of subarachnoid haemorrhage on early CT: is lumbar puncture still needed after a negative scan? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1995;58(3):357-9. PMID 7897421Vergouwen MD, Rinkel GJ. Clinical suspicion of subarachnoid hemorrhage and negative head computed tomographic scan performed within 6 hours of headache onset--no need for lumbar puncture. Ann Emerg Med 2013;61(4):503-4. PMID 23522819Vermeulen M, Hasan D, Blijenberg BG, Hijdra A, van Gijn J. Xanthochromia after subarachnoid haemorrhage needs no revisitation. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1989;52(7):826-8. PMID 2769274We believe that the principles expressed or implied in the podcast remain valid, but certain details may be superseded by evolving knowledge since the episode’s original release date.