Vertigo and Complaints of Dizziness

Vertigo and Complaints of Dizziness - #19

Take Quiz

Differentiate peripheral and central causes of dizziness.

Emergency department visit.

Assess elderly patient complaining of vertigo with complexities of many underlying etiologies.

Vertigo is an episodic spinning or rotational sensation when one is stationary caused by disorders of the vestibular system.

Recognize urgent vs. non-urgent causes of vertigo in the elderly.

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  2. Kroenke K, Lucas CA, Rosenberg ML, Scherkman B, Herbers JE Jr, Wehrle PA, Boggi JO. Causes of persistent dizziness. A prospective study of 100 patients in ambulatory care. Ann Intern Med 1992; 117:898-904. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1443950
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  4. Burt CW, Scheppert SM. Ambulatory care visits to physician offices, hospital outpatient departments and emergency departments: United States 1999–2000.  Vital Health Stat 13  2004; 1-70. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15499797
  5. Lawson J, Fitzgerald J, Birchall J, Aldren CD, Kenny RA. Diagnosis of Geriatric Patients with Severe Dizziness. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 1999, 47(1): 12-7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9920224
  6. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice 7th Ed., Editor-in-Chief John A. Marx, Philadelphia: Mosby/Elsevier, 2009.
  7. Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine, A Comprehensive Study Guide 7th Ed., Editor-in-Chief Judith E. Tintinalli, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
This GFF ___ my competence in geriatrics.

Catherine Tsufis, Kathryn Denson MD, Kathleen Williams MD, Gabriel Manzi MD

Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin