Association of Race and Ethnicity With Emergency Room Rate of Migraine Diagnosis, Testing, and Management in Children With Headache

https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000213351?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Sn_UV-6J_jDsz2H1fMbdheIaRCuLB9QwghT_fX4MSze93dhNA_swdG3jabRs_DMyzZtAe1-yLyWoosYf2y-UCpFSEAw&_hsmi=345985342&utm_content=345985342&utm_source=hs_email Some kids with headaches get treated differently in the ED Black children and Hispanic or Latino children who go to pediatric emergency departments because of a headache receive fewer migraine diagnoses, fewer tests, and less intense treatments than white children who come in with the same symptoms, according to a study published yesterday in Neurology. The study analyzed more than 160,400 visits by children to 49 pediatric EDs between 2016 and 2022. Just 28% of Black and Hispanic children received a migraine diagnosis compared to 46% of white children. Four percent of Black and Hispanic children got an MRI compared to 9% of white ones. And while there was no racial disparity in the number of patients receiving any treatment, Black children were 37% more likely than white ones to receive just oral meds, without any intravenous treatment, and 20% less likely to be admitted to the hospital. Hispanic children were 54% more likely to receive oral meds and 35% less likely to be admitted. Further research is needed, the authors write, to understand how these disparities end up affecting kids’ health outcomes and to develop interventions to address the inequities.