Vertigo, dizziness and imbalance in the elderly

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the diagnosis of vertigo, dizziness and imbalance in elderly patients in two tertiary neurotology clinics.

Design and setting: Six hundred and seventy-seven patients aged over 65 years were assessed by the same senior author, and 601 patients were enrolled in the study.

Results: The most frequent diagnoses were benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (42.43 per cent), idiopathic vestibulopathy (20.29 per cent), migraine vestibulopathy (13.15 per cent), Ménière's disease (12.47 per cent) and acute vestibular attack (6.49 per cent).

Conclusion and significance: This retrospective study showed that 93.5 per cent of the elderly patients studied had been diagnosed with peripheral vertigo. The majority of patients had been classified as having benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, idiopathic vestibulopathy or migraine vestibulopathy.