vertigo Flashcards
causes of vertigo
Otologic
Neurologic
general medical
psychiatric/undiagnosed
what is the most common cause of vertigo???
) BPPV 49
2) Ménière’s disease 18.5
3) Unilateral Vestibular paresis 13.5
4) Bilateral Vestibular paresis 8
5) Middle Ear Dysfunction 6
6) Fistula
CAUSES OF NEUROLOGICAL DIZZINESS
Stroke and TIA 35
Vertebrobasilar migraine 16
Nystagmus 8
Sensory ataxia 7
Basal ganglia dysfunction 4
Cerebellar ataxia 5
Seizure 3
Miscellaneous disorders 22
medical causes of vertigo and what medicine typically is used to treat vertigo
Cardiovascular 23-43
Hypotension
Cardiac arrhythmia
Coronary artery disease
Infection 4-40
Medication 7-12
Hypoglycemia 4-5
mecolzine even though it can cause dizziness it typically inhibits the vestibular cochlear nerve
what some other reasons for vertigo think about people that freak out??
“hyperventilation syndrome”, “post-traumatic vertigo,” and “nonspecific” dizziness. About 25% of dizziness or vertigo falls into this category.
Remember classic vs. non-classic presentation
Also there is a high correlation with anxiety disorders and dizziness
BPPV what are its clinical signs that you might hear
only last for a few seconds, usally happens when I change positions
vestibular neuritis signs
typically can last for 48-72 hours usually. motion sensitivity,
meineres disease signs
last any where from 1-24 hours typically causes HEARING LOSS, fullness in ear, tinnitus and vomiting
bilateral vestibular disorder signs
is permenant more serious of th of the disease gait ataxia, osclilopsia (in ability of the vestibular ocular reflex to hold an image on the retina)
Fistula signs
last for a few seconds, loud tinnitus, usally cause of nose blowing, or sneezing.
what is a big factor of when determining what is going on??
the duration of the symptoms
Specific Questions to ask during the exam??? think like positioning vs. motion vs. environments
Oscillopsia Headaches Positioning Symptoms Motion Sensitivity Issues in Dark, busy environments Exertion induced (vertigo with strain may suggest a fistula) Coordination issues Incontinence / memory loss (normal pressure hydrocephalus)
Some commonly used tests during an examination!!!
Ocular Motility (simple ROM of eyes) 2) Nystagmus Spontaneous Gaze evoked Direction changing or follows Alexander’s Law 3) Saccades 4) Smooth Pursuit 5) VOR 6) Head Thrust 7) VOR Cancellation 8) Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA) 9) Head Shaking Nystagmus
what is called when you look to the left real fast???
Above is Left beating nystagmus (fast phase to left) that worsens when looking to the Left and lessens when looking to the Right
CALL IT: 3rd degree left beating nystagmus that follows Alexander’s Law
when eyes are looking down and you have a nystagmus what is this an indication of. What determines a tumor from a stroke indication
View eyes looking left, straight, and right. Observe for nystagmus
RIGHT LEFT
Above is Vertical nystagmus – this is a CENTRAL Finding until proved otherwise
the onset: so the tumor will be more of a insidious onset and a stroke will be more very acute onset like it just happens very rapidly and patient can typically pinpoint when it happens.
eyes that have a left beating pattern are indication of what
View eyes looking left, straight, and right. Observe for nystagmus
RIGHT LEFT
Look to the right, right beating nystagmus – look to the left, left beating. This is a CENTRAL SIGN
when a PT performs saccades on a patient what is this an indication of???
Look from target to target
Significant Overshooting is a Central Sign
Multiple movements is a Central Sign
1 undershoot is considered normal
description of the headthurst test
Ask patient to focus on your nose, slowly move head side to side, observing for visual fixation
Patient focuses on your nose, then turn their head quickly in a random fashion (about 20 degrees)
Look at their eyes to see if they remain stationary on your nose
Highly specific (95%), not highly sensitive (38%) (misses many positives, but doesn’t falsely identify normals)
Can increase sensitivity by RANDOMIZING the direction of movement, but be careful not to exceed patient’s comfortable ROM
Direction of HEAD MOVEMENT = DIRECTION of Dysfunction ie:
Decrease in fixation with forced LEFT ROTATION = LEFT DYSFUNCTION, + L Head Thrust test
VOR cancellation test what is this an indication of??? if the eyes move with the head??
The VOR must be suppressed during the head movement in order to keep focused on the target which is moving synchronously with the head.
Unilateral vestibular lesions do not impair VOR cancellation unless the spontaneous nystagmus from the lesion is so high that it prevents the eye tracking systems from functioning normally, therefore impaired VOR cancellation is almost always a sign of cerebellar pathology.
How to perform: Hold patient’s head, ask them to focus on your nose. As you step from side to side, keep your patient’s head facing you. Normal: patient’s eyes remain focused. If eyes cannot focus test is positive for cerebellar pathology.
Dynamic visual acuity (DVA) explain procedure
Patient reads Snellen chart – assess score
Gently turn patient’s head as they try to read at 1 cycle/sec
Positive test is 3 or more line difference
head shaking test explain and what does it indicate?/
Move head back and forth, 2 Hz, 20 cycles
Excursion is +/- 30 degrees, as tolerated
Nystagmus is often seen in patients with unilateral vestibular lesions
“normals” may show 1-2 seconds of nystagmus
Nystagmus usually beats away from the “bad” side
Kristindottir et al (2000) reported higher frequency of HSN in hip fracture subjects than healthy subjects
From Hain – www.dizziness-and-balance.com
Which finding suggest a Central Lesion?
Which finding suggest a Central Lesion?
Vertical gaze nystagmus
Saccades (left gaze and vertical nsytamgus)
VOR Cancellation during head rotation test
Coordination deficits
Spasticity
what are some reasons for a central lesion??
Epilepsy Demyelinating diseases Tumors Vascular (including CVA, VBI) Traumatic Degenerative changes
Central findings in the examination may necessitate further diagnostic imaging
what muscles if weak can be an indication of possible falls?? what else
Tib anterior and weak glute med, and lack of hip IR, and decreased ROM and strength in the hip
description of Benign Postional vertigo
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
Presentation: complaints of vertigo (room spinning) with static positioning
Initial episode can be with rolling for the snooze alarm or retrieving object from shelf.
Pt usually knows which positions are involved and avoids them!
Symptoms usually abate quickly with movement out of provoking positions.
Patient may also c/o disequilibria and have decreased balance secondary to poor use of vestibular (VT) cues for balance.
Describe the hallpike manuever!! no this can’t have a false negative!!
Patient starts in long sit, with head rotated 45 degrees towards the side to test. Ask the patient to keep their eyes open as you quickly bring them into a supine position with their head extended 30 degrees