Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: Diagnosis and treatment in the emergency department—a review of the literature and discussion of canalith-repositioning maneuvers

Abstract

Dizziness is a frequent presenting complaint in emergency department patients. Although seen in patients of all ages, it is more prevalent in patients older than 50 years of age. Vertigo represents a subset of dizziness and is defined as an illusion of movement, usually rotational, of the patient or the patient’s surroundings. The illusion of motion may be of oneself (subjective vertigo) or of external objects (objective vertigo). The emergency physician should consider a large differential in the evaluation of vertigo with special attention to whether the vertigo is central or peripheral in origin. [Koelliker P, Summers RL, Hawkins B. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: diagnosis and treatment in the emergency department—a review of the literature and discussion of canalith-repositioning maneuvers. Ann Emerg Med. April 2001;37:392-398.]