Background: Acute headache is one of the most frequent health problems. This study analyzed incidental brain-associated pathologies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in subjects suffering from acute headaches.
Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between January 2018 and December 2021 to assess brain MRI in adult patients suffering from acute headaches. One hundred patients (61 females and 39 males) aged 12-80 years were recruited. MRI scanning was performed, and incidental brain pathologies were analyzed.
Results: MRI findings incidentally showed brain-related abnormalities in 71% of acute headache subjects. Out of them, 59.1% were females. The most frequent abnormality was white matter changes observed in 22% of subjects, followed by 20% with paranasal sinus pathologies, including acute/chronic sinusitis, retention cysts, and paranasal lymphoma. Optic abnormalities were observed in 9% of subjects, whereas cysts were observed in 9% of patients, including retention and arachnoid cysts. Other highly prevalent neurological abnormalities detected were intracranial hypertension, microvascular issues, lesions such as meningiomas, orbital lymphoma, low-grade tumor, ganglioglioma, and anaplastic oligodendrogliomas.
Conclusion: Incidental findings of brain MRI in subjects suffering from acute headaches showed various neurological abnormalities, such as intracranial hypertension, optic disease, and paranasal sinus pathologies. Importantly, metastasis and cerebral atrophy were also incidentally detected in studied subjects. The data also concluded that abnormalities were more frequent in females. These findings indicate that acute headache is a neurological condition that might be linked to other severe neurological disorders.
Key words: Neurological pathologies, headache, magnetic resonance imaging, incidental findings.
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