Acute intracranial vascular accidents.

Cerebellar hemorrhage, cerebellar infarction, pontine hemorrhage, and pontine infarction are four clinical conditions representative of intracranial posterior fossa accidents, which can mimic acute vestibular disturbances. It is exceedingly important to recognize these clinical entities early and to differentiate them from peripheral vestibulopathies so that appropriate diagnostic tests and therapeutic measures can be instituted early to prevent the high mortality rate seen without appropriate treatment. It is appreciated that without computed axial tomography, rapid diagnosis of these clinical syndromes is more difficult, but it is still possible on the basis of the clinical clues mentioned if their potential significance is recognized.