Ljunggren M, et al. - This population-based descriptive study was performed to elucidate the epidemiology and management of dizzy patients with and without an acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) in the Emergency Department (ED) at Umeå University Hospital. The risk for cerebrovascular causes of dizziness increased with the presence of neurological signs and an AVS, although low in an unselected cohort. When planning and implementing dizziness and AVS management algorithms at EDs, this population-based data could be useful.

Methods

• The researchers identified n = 2,126 ED dizziness visits during 3 years.
• They obtained data through retrospective review of medical records.
• They stratified cases based on presentation, including AVS and neurological deficits.
• In this study, the outcomes analyzed included cerebrovascular causes of dizziness.
• When calculating incidence CIs, a Poisson distribution was assumed.

Results

• In this study, 2.1% of all ED visits were presented with dizziness, incidence 477/100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 457-498).
• In this study, 19.2% had an AVS among dizzy patients, incidence 92/100,000 inhabitants (95% CI 74-113).
• Otovestibular (15.1%), cardiovascular (8.7%) and neurological diseases (7.7%), including stroke and transitory ischemic attack (4.8%) were the top medical diagnostic groups.
• The researchers found more common cerebrovascular causes of dizziness among those with an AVS (10.0%) vs those without (3.6%), p < 0.01.