Diagnostic Work up and Management of Acute Onset Vertigo

Plain-language summary

Incidence: Dizziness or vertigo is a very prevalent complaint in the general population, and a common reason for seeking medical attention. In Denmark, 20-30 % have experienced dizziness/vertigo to a degree that has led to disability, sick leave, or medical contact(1). In the United States, dizziness is estimated to account for partly 2.6-4.4 million visits to emergency departments (EDs) each year, partly 4 % of main symptoms in patients admitted to EDs (2). In Germany, the estimated prevalence of dizziness is 20-30 % with an annual incidence about 11 % (3). Terminology and definition: Dizziness or vertigo is not a disease itself but rather a symptom of various underlying disorders. Thus, vestibular, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic, and psychiatric diseases may be associated with dizziness/vertigo as well as medical side effects. Patients (and professionals) often use the two terms dizziness and vertigo synonymously, which may cause some confusion in the choice of diagnostics. Vertigo is characteristic for vestibular disorders and is defined as sensation of self-motion when no self-motion occurs, or sensation of distorted self-motion during an otherwise normal head movement, whereas dizziness is a feeling of more general unsteadiness. 1. Is implementation of HINTS and v-HIT in an ED able to reduce the number of undiagnosed and misdiagnosed cases of acute onset vertigo as well as diagnostic delay ? 2. What are the effects of immediate and systematic balance training in case of acute vestibular diseases ? 3. What is the cost-effectiveness of implementation of HINTS and v-HIT as up front diagnostics, and systematic balance training in patients with acute vestibular diseases ?

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