Vertigo and imbalance in children: a retrospective study in a Helsinki University otorhinolaryngology clinic.

OBJECTIVE

To determine medical characteristics of children with vertigo who visited an otorhinolaryngology (ENT) clinic during a 5-year period.

DESIGN

A retrospective chart review carried out between 2000 and 2004.

SETTING

Helsinki University Central Hospital tertiary referral center ENT clinic.

SUBJECTS: A total of 119 children (63 girls and 56 boys), ranging in age from 7 months to 17 years (mean age, 10.9 years at examination).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients were identified from the ENT clinic database based on hospital discharge codes, with data stored in the database and the SPSS program applied for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

Only 0.7% of children visiting the hospital during the 5-year period had vertigo. Benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood, migraine-associated dizziness, vestibular neuronitis, and otitis media-related dizziness accounted for vertigo in most of the children.

CONCLUSIONS

Vertigo is a rare primary complaint of children in an ENT clinic. In achieving a diagnosis, the most valuable tools are medical history, an otoneurologic examination, electronystagmography, and audiography.