Vertigo: Is it really a neurological emergency? [Vertigo: Gerçekten bir nörolojik acil midir?]

Abstract

Aim: To asses the incidence of vertigo which occurs as a symptom of a neurological emergency. Material and Method: Emergency Room (ER) admissions with vertigo in a state hospital have been evaluated. Patients who have been consulted to a neurologist were included in the study. Demographical variables and the routine ER examination with cranial imagings of the necessary patients were investigated. Results: Three thousand five hundred and fifty-eight patients who were admitted with vertigo were analysed. Four hundred and nine of these patients were consulted to a neurologist. Eightysix of them underwent brain Computerized Tomography. Only 11 of the 86 imagings showed a lesion consistent with neurological emergency. Discussion: Vertigo is a very common symptom in ER. Considering the vast etiology of vertigo, besides being a symptom of severe neurological disorders it may even represent a somatiform disorder. The easiest and the least costing steps of ER examination like monitoring of blood glucose level, complete blood count, arterial blood pressure with neurological examination would prevent overuse of hospital sources and avoid consultation burden of neurologists. © 2012, Derman Medical Publishing. All rights reserved.