Article contents
Primary assessment of the vertiginous patient at a pre-ENT balance clinic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 May 2007
Abstract
Due to problems with long waiting times for assessment of vertiginous patients (more than 24 weeks), we changed practice and instituted a pre-ENT balance clinic assessment; we then audited the results. In particular, we looked at the subgroup with benign positional paroxysmal vertigo.
One hundred and fifteen patients were seen at the pre-ENT balance clinic from October 2003 to September 2004. Those diagnosed with benign positional paroxysmal vertigo received particle repositioning therapy at the same clinic and did not subsequently need ENT assessment.
By the end of the audit period, waiting times were reduced to three weeks, and more than one-quarter of vertiginous patients (i.e. those diagnosed with benign positional paroxysmal vertigo) did not need to be reviewed at an ENT clinic.
We believe this to be the first study to present prospective data showing that patients with benign positional paroxysmal vertigo may be safely diagnosed and effectively managed at a pre-ENT balance clinic.
- Type
- Main Articles
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2007
Footnotes
Presented at the British Academic Conference of Otolaryngologists, 5–7 July 2006, Birmingham, UK.
References
- 10
- Cited by