Abstract
More than 5% of primary care visits revolve around dizziness. Imprecise symptom reporting coupled with a broad differential diagnosis consisting of both benign and malignant disease can present a diagnostic dilemma. The examiner’s role is to use an open-ended history to categorize the patient’s symptoms into one of the four major types of dizziness: vertigo (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular neuritis, labyrinthitis, and Meniere’s disease), presyncope, disequilibrium, and lightheadedness. Specialized exam techniques include evaluation for orthostasis and nystagmus, the Dix-Hallpike maneuver, and purposeful hyperventilation. Treatment is focused on addressing the underlying cause of the symptom.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Post RE, Dickerson LM. Dizziness: a diagnostic approach. Am Fam Physician. 2010;82(4):361–8.
Neuhauser HK, et al. Burden of dizziness and vertigo in the community. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:2118.
Kroenke K, et al. Causes of persistent dizziness. A prospective study of 100 patients in ambulatory care. Ann Intern Med. 1992;117:898.
Stanton VA, et al. Overreliance on symptom quality in diagnosing dizziness: results of a multicenter survey of emergency physicians. Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82:1319.
Baloh RW. Differentiating between peripheral and central causes of vertigo. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1998;119:55.
Hotson JR, Baloh RW. Acute vestibular syndrome. N Engl J Med. 1998;339:680.
Kerber KA, Baloh RW. The evaluation of a patient with dizziness. Neurol Clin Pract. 2011;1:24.
Wood KA, et al. Frequency of disabling symptoms in supraventricular tachycardia. Am J Cardiol. 1997;79:145.
Maarsingh OR, et al. Causes of persistent dizziness in elderly patients in primary care. Ann Fam Med. 2010;8:196.
Reilly BM. Dizziness. Clinical methods: the history, physical, and laboratory examinations. 3rd ed. Boston: Butterworths; 1990. p. 220.
Furman JM, et al. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. N Engl J Med. 1999;341:1590.
Cohen HS, et al. Standing balance tests for screening people with vestibular impairments. Laryngoscope. 2014;124:545.
Sloane PD, et al. Management of dizziness in primary care. J Am Board Fam Pract. 1994;7:1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kennedy, R. (2022). Dizziness. In: Sydney, E., Weinstein, E., Rucker, L.M. (eds) Handbook of Outpatient Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15353-2_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15353-2_25
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-15352-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-15353-2
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)