Clinical survey of the vertiginous outpatients

We investigated 254 vertiginous outpatients who visited our neuro-otological clinic from 2009 to 2011 regarding their diagnosis, age-distribution, sex-ratio, character of disequilibrium, the reason for visiting us, and the results of their equilibrium function examination. The ratio of males to females was 1: 2. The age-distribution showed a peak in the fifth to sixth decade for both sexes. Most patients were suffering from Meniere's disease (26.0%) and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) (22.8%). Fifteen patients (5.9%) were diagnosed as having psychogenic vertigo. The equilibrium function examination showed that canal paresis was a significant factor in Meniere's disease. Our results suggest that it is important for otolaryngologist to be equipped with knowledge about the psychiatric comorbidity in patients with vertigo.