Vertigo as a Problem in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Objectives: To assess patients with vertigo who came to the emergency department Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting(s): Emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Participants: 280 patients admitted to the emergency department with a complaint of vertigo. Outcome measures: The relationship between age, gender, previous medical history, computerized tomography (CT) scan, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings were investigated in this study. Results: Vertigo was the most common complaint among emergency department visitors, accounting for 2.1% of all visits. Furthermore, 30.3 % (85 of 280) of all patients with vertigo were identified with central vertigo. The average age of central vertigo patients was 65.9±10.9. Females made up 58.6% and 41.2% of all vertigo patients and central vertigo patients, respectively. In the group with central vertigo, hypertension (HTN) was the most common risk factor (44.7%). Conclusions: Patients who refer to the emergency department with vertigo often do not respond to the usual treatments, and this is the main reason for them to visit the emergency department, so a good history and complete examination along with a suitable imaging modality can help assess these patients.