Dizziness Flashcards
a distinct immediate and sometime incapacitating alteration of sensory experience characterized by a feeling of movement of oneself or environment
vertigo
unsteadiness or current tendency to stumble or fall, lacks a clear disturbance of sensorium of vertigo and related to ambulation
imbalance/disequilibrium
a floating feeling, mild unsteadiness or depersonalization
lightheadedness, can be replicated by hyperventilation
feeling faint or losing consciousness
presyncope
mechanics of the balance system
input from vestibular (angular and linear), proprioceptive, and visual -> cns -> eye and joints -> vestibulooccular reflex and vestibularspinal reflex
t/f dizziness occurs when there is any dysfunction in the visual, vestibular, or somatic (proprioceptive) system
true
non-vestibular causes of dizziness
cardiovascular, endocrine, neurologic, drugs
vestibular causes of dizziness
disruption in the afferent vestibular pathway or in the equilibrium reflexes mentioned earlier
how to diagnose dizziness
- ascertain if it’s truly vertigo
- elicit triggers, timing, duration, and intensity (detailed hx)
- detect associated symptoms (neuro pe)
- determine if vestibular or not
the first thing to do with a dizzy patient is __
determine if this is a neuro event (sudden onset headache and neurologic signs = urgent refer)
peripheral vs central vertigo
peripheral: membranous labyrinth/vestibular apparatus and vestibular nerve
central: nuclei and fiber tracts in cns
nystagmus in peripheral vertigo
- horizontal and torsional
- inhibited by fixating eyes
- fades after few days
- does not change direction with gaze
nystagmus in central vertigo
- purely vertical, horizontal or torsional
- not inhibited by fixation
- may last weeks to months
- may change direction with gaze towards fast phase
imbalance in peripheral and central vertigo
p: mild to moderate, can walk
c: severe, cannot walk or stand still
nausea/vomiting in p and c vertigo
p: severe
c: varies
hearing loss and tinnitus in p and c vertigo
p: common
c: rare
non-auditory neuro symptoms in p and c vertigo
p: rare
c: common
latency following provocation in p and c vertigo
p: longer (20 s)
c: shorter (5 s)
a conjugated, coordinated eye movement about a certain axis which can be divided into rhythmically alternating slow and fast phases
nystagmus
pathology in nystagmus
when only one vestibular system is sending inputs to the cns
kinds of movement in nystagmus
- horizontal
- vertical
- rotary
slow vs fast phase
slow: tonic eye movement induced physiologically or pathologically by vestibular stimulus
fast: saccade like re-fixation movement induced by oculomotor system