From dizziness to vertigo: a proposal for the management of the vertiginous patient in Primary Care

Abstract

Vertigo is the illusion of the environment spinning around oneself or vice versa. It is common and generally evaluated by the primary care physician (PCP). Some PCPs underrate it; therefore this offering. A bibliographical survey was performed in PubMed, LILACS, SciELO, Cochrane, and the libraries of Federal University of Paraná and the Pontifical Catholic University. One must understand the vestibular apparatus, divided into a peripheral segment (vestibular apparatus and nerve) and a central segment (vestibular nuclei, paths and cortical centers). Propedeutics allows the differentiation of vertigo from syncope, disequilibrium and various cephalic sensations in addition to peripheral vertigo (PV) and central vertigo (CV). PV can be associated with tinnitus, hypoacusis, intense vertigo, prostration, profuse sweating and pallor. Nystagmus is exhaustible, horizontal, rotatory or mixed and disappears when fixing the gaze. CV is characterized by latency and tolerability of vertigo and is not accompanied of hypoacusis or tinnitus. It may be associated with ataxia, dysarthria, diplopia or sensory, motor or cranial nerves alterations. Nystagmus is inexhaustible, with a different direction in each eye and beating in any direction less than horizontal. Complementary evaluation is unnecessary except in cases of CV and Ménière´s disease. Treatment is directed to the cause, reassuring the patient about its character which, most of the time, is benign and limited. Drugs for symptoms must be used rationally and for the least time possible. Emphasized is the need for fieldwork in primary care that should permit us to devise strategies and protocols for the management of vertigo.