Analysis of vertiginous patients seen at an ENT clinic

Abstract

We performed a demographic analysis of 2293 vertiginous patients seen at our clinic from February 1995 to November 2005. While a definitive diagnosis could be made in 1287 cases (56%), the diagnosis remained tentative in 622 (27%), and the cause diagnosis remained unknown in 384 cases (17%). The most common vertiginous disease was benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (456 cases), followed in prevalence by Meniere's disease (232 cases). Most patients had visited other medical facilities before visiting our clinic. Analysis of the medical facilities visited by the patients suggested that the vertiginous patients visited both physicians and otolaryngologists; while, physicians saw the patients in primary care settings, otolaryngologists examined the patients at general hospitals and university hospitals. This discrepancy may complicate the care of vertiginous patients.