PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article describes an approach to the diagnosis and management of acute constant dizziness, one of the most unnerving presentations in medicine. Patients with acute constant dizziness can be completely debilitated by the symptoms. Most cases are caused by a self-limited disorder, typically vestibular neuritis. However, a significant proportion of cases harbor a stroke that could be life threatening. Discriminating a self-limited disorder from a life-threatening disorder can be challenging and often hinges on findings, which may be subtle, from the ocular motor examination. RECENT FINDINGS: Early research indicates that bedside ocular motor findings play a critical role in differentiating vestibular neuritis from stroke. SUMMARY: This article describes an approach to the patient with acute constant dizziness.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article describes an approach to the diagnosis and management of acute constant dizziness, one of the most unnerving presentations in medicine. Patients with acute constant dizziness can be completely debilitated by the symptoms. Most cases are caused by a self-limited disorder, typically vestibular neuritis. However, a significant proportion of cases harbor a stroke that could be life threatening. Discriminating a self-limited disorder from a life-threatening disorder can be challenging and often hinges on findings, which may be subtle, from the ocular motor examination. RECENT FINDINGS: Early research indicates that bedside ocular motor findings play a critical role in differentiating vestibular neuritis from stroke. SUMMARY: This article describes an approach to the patient with acute constant dizziness.