3. HOWEVER
The vast majority of cases of vertigo
are due to peripheral causes or
benign central conditions (migraine).
4. Is it vertigo?
âș Definition: an illusion of motion
ï§ Spinning, dropping, tilting, falling
ï§ âsomething moving inside my headâ
âș Usually aggravated by head movements
âș Differential diagnosis large
ï§ Anxiety and hyperventilation
ï§ Postural hypotension
8. Vestibular neuritis (neuronitis)
âșA common cause of acute vertigo
âș Many cases thought to be due to reactivation of
herpes simplex I
âș Similar pathogenesis to Bellâs palsy
âș Acute vertigo, unidirectional nystagmus
10. Management:
Shupak et al, Otology & Neurotology. 2008. 29:368-374.
Strupp et al, NEJM. 2004. 351:354-361.
âș Prednisolone aids clinical and laboratory recovery
ï§ 1 mg/kg for 5 days, followed by reducing dose over
next 15 days.
âș Valacyclovirineffective
âș Other treatment
ï§ prochlorperazine, promethazine
11. HINTS to Diagnose Stroke in the Acute
Vestibular Syndrome
Three-Step Bedside Oculomotor Examination
More Sensitive Than Early MRI Diffusion-
Weighted Imaging
Jorge C. Kattah, MD; Arun V. Talkad, MD; David Z. Wang, DO;
Yu-Hsiang Hsieh, PhD, MS; David E. Newman-Toker, MD, PhD
Stroke 2009;40;3504-3510
14. Benign HINTS examination result at the
bedside ârules outâ stroke better than a
negative MRI with DWI in the first 24 to
48 hours after symptom onset
The sensitivity of early MRI with DWI
for lateral medullary or pontine
infarction was lower than that of the
bedside examination (72% versus
100%)
17. Benign positional vertigo
âș ~25% of cases of vertigo.
âș May be primary or secondary.
âș Short-lived bouts of vertigo.
âș Positional features
ï§ in bed, head extension (âtop shelf vertigoâ), bending.
âș Usually curable!
19. Diagnosis
âș Must see nystagmus with vertigo
âș Patients with other vestibular disorders will often
feel dizzy during the Hallpike manoeuvre
âș Spontaneous or central nystagmus may be more
prominent during positional testing
22. Brandt-Daroff exercises for management of benign
positional vertigo (posterior canal)
Acta Otolaryngol. 1980;106:484-485
23. 4. Disequilibrium
âș CNS
ï§ cerebellar disease
ï§ normal pressure hydrocephalus
ï§ multi infarct state
âș Proprioceptive loss
ï§ spinal disease
ï§ peripheral neuropathy
âș Other
ï§ bilateral vestibular hypofunction
ï§ ageing
ï§ hypothyroidism
ï§ multi-sensory dizziness/disequilibrium
(visual, vestibular, cervical spine, neuropathy, orthopaedic)
24. âRed Flagsâ
âș Other neurological signs
âș Ataxia out of proportion to vertigo
âș Nystagmus out of proportion to vertigo
âș Central nystagmus
ï§ vertical, gaze evoked, dissociated, acquired
pendular
âș Central eye movement abnormalities
ï§ broken pursuit , gaze palsy, dysmetric or slow
saccades, skew deviation
25. Summary
âș Learn to differentiate between spontaneous and
(head) motion induced vertigo
âș Think of migraine, particularly in the younger
patient presenting with unexplained recurrent
vertigo.
âș Vertebro-basilar ischaemia is a rare diagnosis
âș Examine the eye movements carefully
âș Do a Hallpike test (except when there is obvious
spontaneous nystagmus).