Approach to Dizziness and Vertigo in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Vertigo and dizziness, considered the first as a rotational illusory sensation and the second as an altered sensation of the senses not related to the sensation of movement, are frequent reasons for consulting the emergency room, having extensive differential diagnoses that include both benign and serious conditions . For emergency physicians, one of the main objectives is to differentiate and detect cerebrovascular diseases and critical conditions that require acute treatment among the majority of consultations that present as self-limited and benign conditions. The clinical approach should include the triggering factors, the intermittence and time of evolution of the symptoms; and since neuroimaging studies such as computed tomography of the skull, which is not completely sensitive to exclude the presence of lesions of the posterior fossa, and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, which may not show lesions within the first 24 hours After the onset of symptoms, it is important to be familiar with the use of clinical tests to differentiate neurological lesions of central and peripheral origin.