Underlying causes of vertigo or dizziness among patients presenting to Ear, Nose and Throat clinic at a tertiary care hospital in North Central province - Sri Lanka

Introduction:Disturbance to the function of vestibular apparatus or sensory processing of its signals presents as vertigo or dizziness. Vertigo/dizziness are common symptoms that can cause significant morbidity to patients.  There is no data on underlying causes for dizziness and vertigo available in Sri Lanka.

Objective: To determine the underlying causes of vertigo/dizziness in a cohort of Sri Lankan population.

Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among patients presenting with vertigo/dizziness to ENT clinic at teaching hospital Anuradhapura from March 2016 to February 2017. All patients were assessed and diagnosed according to a common protocol and accepted standard guidelines.

Results: Out of 627 patients, 290(46.3%) were males. Mean age of presentation was 51.1 years (SD 15.8). Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) was the commonest diagnosis (n229, 36.5%) followed by vestibular migraine (n161, 25.7%) andMénière disease (n50, 8.0%). BPPV was significantly higher among males (Chi-square 4.3, p .039) and vestibular migraine was significantly higher among females (Chi square 8.254, p .004). Acute vestibular neuronitis, acute labyrinthine failure, chronic vestibular failure and functional dizziness were diagnosed in 4.6%, 4.1%, 2.4% and 3% respectively. 

Conclusion: The major underlying cause of dizziness/vertigo reported in this rural Sri Lankan population are similar to the data reported in other countries.