Clinical outcome of vertigo patients receiving inpatient hospital care in a regional central hospital: Influence of a decrease in the number of full-time doctors and hospital beds

In a regional central hospital, the number of hospital inpatients with vertigo decreased along with a decrease in full-time doctors in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and a decrease in the number of hospital beds. The reason for this trend is that emergent and surgical diseases requiring hospital treatment were given priority; for patients with vertigo disorders, admission was adjusted so as to focus on patients with objective findings (such as cranial nerve and auditory disorder findings). The number of patients with vertigo who are hospitalized in our department has decreased; however, this trend has had a minimal effect on other departments. The number of cases requiring hospitalization as a result of vertigo can be limited, and treatment can be provided on an outpatient basis. When limiting hospitalization, the differentiation of central nervous system disorders is important. Based on the characteristics of vertigo, the condition tends to be treated on an outpatient basis in many cases. Hence, attention should be paid to reducing the dependency on physicians on duty (such as physicians from other departments who provide medical treatment to patients at the time of their initial visit), to differentiating central nervous system disorders, and to explaining the initial treatments to patients with vertigo and their family members.