VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Primary Care Management of Headache

This is a summary of the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Primary Care Management of Headache. The guideline was created by a work group that consisted of experts from both the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), together with outside experts, who did a systemic review of clinical studies between January 1, 2009, and March 6, 2019. The work group also solicited input from a patient focus group whose members experienced headaches for more than 10 years and who ranged in age between 40 and 60 years old.

The ambulatory setting is the primary emphasis of this guideline's recommendations and thus it does not thoroughly address emergency management of headaches. However, intravenous treatments are considered and may be offered in the emergency room or infusion centers. The purpose of the guideline is to support primary health care providers in the management and prevention of headache in patients ages 18 and older through accurate assessment and treatment.

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