Clinical, Demographic, and Paraclinic Findings of Central and Peripheral Vertigo.

Introduction: Vertigo is one of the most medical complains and is due to the involvement of peripheral or central vestibular system. Considering the role of genetic factors, life style, and special diets in the incidence of some kinds of vertigo and the nessecity of informing the patients and family physicians about the common probable reasons and different clinical features of the symptom, it seemed necessary to study its common reasons and the difference of its peripheral and central types in the studied area. Objective: To Determine the relative frequency and clinical, demographic and paraclinic characteristics of central and peripheral vertigo Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 152 patients with vertigo, referred to Amir-Al-Momenin and Poursina hospitals in Rasht, from October 2011 to October 2012. Patients' information and praclinic data were collected and then, analyzed using SPSS.17 software, chi square and Fisher tests. Results: From 107 female and 45 malepatiens(mean age:51.84±16.8years), 55 cases (36.2%) had otologic symptoms and 30 cases (19.7%) had neurological complains (e.g. diplopia, speech disorders, and focal signs).Of the first group, 40 cases (26.3%) had peripheral and 1 case (0.6%) had central vertigo (P=0.007), and in the second group 7 subjects (4.6%) had peripheral and 15 cases (9.8%) had central vertigo (P=0.0001). As shown, 113 cases under went brain MRI that revealed neuro-pathological deficits related to the vertigo only in 19.5% of the cases. Also, in 99 cases audiometery was performed that were abnormal only in 38.4% of the cases. Peripheral verigo was the most common type of vertigo (59.2%), especially Benig Paroxysmal Peripheral Vertigo (BPPV) (47.8%). The frequencies of central and peripheral vertigo in terms of age were not significantly different among the groups (p=0.062); however, central vertigo was more common in men than in women (p=0.04). Conclusion: The most common type of vertigo in our patients was peripheral type, and the physical examination can play an important role in the diagnosis of vertigo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]