The Primary Care Management of Headache: Synopsis of the 2020 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction In June of 2020, the U.S. DVA and DoD approved a new joint clinical practice guideline for assessing and managing patients with headache. This guideline provides a framework to evaluate, treat, and longitudinally manage the individual needs and preferences of patients with headache. Methods In October of 2018, the DVA/DoD Evidence-Based Practice Work Group convened a guideline development panel that included clinical stakeholders and conformed to the National Academy of Medicine’s tenets for trustworthy clinical practice guidelines. Results The guideline panel developed key questions, systematically searched and evaluated the literature, created a 1-page algorithm, and advanced 42 recommendations using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Conclusion This synopsis summarizes the key features of the guideline in three areas: prevention, assessing and treating medication overuse headache, and nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic management of headache.