Distribuição dos achados otoneurológicos em pacientes com disfunção vestíbulo-coclear

Abstract

The relationship between spatial body positioning and environment comes from perfect corporal balance. The three most important systems responsible for this relationship are: the optic system (sight), the proprioceptive system, and the labyrinthine system. Study design: retrospective clinical. We carried out a retrospective study in 3,701 patients of a private otolaryngologic clinic in Jundiai -Sao Paulo, Brazil, who underwent vestibular and cochlear labyrinthine function testing, from 1979 to 2004. Aim: To determinate the syndromic distribution of the population and to correlate its relationship with sex, age, symptomatology, as well as otological, clinical and electronystagmographic findings, and which were the most frequent medical specialties who asked for this investigation. Results: We found higher prevalence in females (1.75:1). Seventy-nine percent of the patients were aged 20 to 59 years old, therefore including people in productive age, with a major prevalence of peripheral syndromes, but there was no preference for age or sex among different syndromes. This study also demonstrated that some otoneurological symptoms were common to all kinds of otoneurological syndromes, in opposition to the data found in the world literature. Tinnitus, hearing loss, nausea and vomiting as well as harmonic alterations in clinical examination were found with more frequency on peripheral syndromes, whereas non-harmonic was found in central syndromes, according to the reviewed literature. The conclusions showed that the majority of the patients started their investigation with either otolaryngologists or neurologists and 36% of the patients had peripheral syndrome and almost 25% had normal evaluation.

Frequência de alteração vestibular em bombeiros militares de Alagoas

“…It was found that 15.4% of the men and 75% of the women reported at least one episode of dizziness, corroborating the literature, which reports it as a common complaint in women 13,[15][16][17][18][19] . Statistical analysis shows a significant difference for dizziness between men and women (p=0.0307), the latter more prone to this condition.…”

“…No similar research with firefighters was found in the literature; however, considering the age group under study, we located a retrospective study conducted in São Paulo to determine the syndromic distribution of vestibular dysfunctions in patients at a private otorhinolaryngology clinic and correlate it to other data, including age group 13 . From 20 to 39 years, researchers also found greater prevalence of peripheral alterations in their subjects (34%), followed by normal results (32%), corroborating the present study.…”

“…Hyperreflexia frequency was lower and unilateral in the two cases presented, and no hyporeflexia or areflexia was found. The literature 13,24,25 contains conflicting caloric test results, given that a number of authors conducted their research before publication of the guideline suggested for standardizing temperature and cutoff values in Brazil 12 . This one of the most common symptoms in both sexes worldwide, occurring in 10% of the population and more frequent in adults and the elderly (more than 40% of adults report its occurrence at some time in their lives) 4 .…”

Presbivertigem como causa de tontura no idoso

“…Hence, from the 120 patients evaluated, 14.2% were defined as suffering from unilateral peripheral vestibular disease. Therefore, it seems that vestibular diseases as a primary cause for vertigo is not common among aged individuals (3,(18)(19). Bilateral weakness or no caloric response were observed in 12/33 (36%) of the tests with abnormal results.…”

“…At this age range, several factors may lead to instability, such as cardiovascular, neurological and skeletal-muscular diseases, diabetes, postural hypotension and the use of several kinds of drugs, including diuretics, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, anxiolytics and antidepressants (17)(18)(19)(20)(21). The fact that most of the caloric test results are within the normal range corroborates the theory of multifactorial instability for aged individuals, since caloric testing only evaluates the lateral semicircular canal, which is specifically related to vestibular function.…”