Assessing headaches in children to identify serious brain issues
Official title: Headache Assessment of Children for Emergent Intracranial Abnormalities
Funded at Columbia University Health Sciences · NIH-10884916 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at kids who go to the emergency room with headaches to find out which ones might need extra tests for serious brain issues, helping doctors decide when it's really necessary to do scans while keeping kids safe from too much radiation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Columbia University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2020 |
| Project end | June 30, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $1,020,386 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS110826-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-10884916 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are children aged 0-17 who present to emergency departments with complaints of headaches.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with headaches that are not presenting in emergency settings or those with known chronic conditions may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on children who visit emergency departments with headaches, aiming to identify which children are at risk for serious brain conditions like tumors or strokes. By analyzing clinical characteristics, the study seeks to develop a decision support tool that helps doctors determine when neuroimaging is necessary, reducing unnecessary exposure to radiation from CT scans. The research will gather data on various headache symptoms and their correlation with brain abnormalities, ultimately improving patient care in emergency settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could significantly reduce unnecessary neuroimaging in children, minimizing their exposure to harmful radiation and improving the accuracy of identifying serious conditions.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has indicated that refining clinical decision-making tools can improve patient outcomes, suggesting that this approach has potential for success.
Where this research is happening
-
Columbia University Health Sciences
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tsze, Daniel Sing-Kwong — Columbia University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Tsze, Daniel Sing-Kwong
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.