Triage Tools for the Dizzy Patient
It takes a multidisciplinary team to manage the variety of diseases causing dizziness. The role of triage tools is to educate healthcare professionals regarding the possible causes of dizziness and the most appropriate place to send patients for a more definitive diagnosis and treatment.
Systematic Review of Triage Tools
The evaluation of peripheral vestibular disorders in clinical practice is an especially difficult endeavor, particularly for a clinician who does not see a high volume of vestibular patients. The goal of this systematic review was to evaluate the design, approaches, and outcomes for clinical vestibular symptom triage and decision support tools reported in peer-reviewed journals. This review was conducted by a team led by Dr. Matthew Crowson and VeDA's Medical Advocacy Committee and published in the Journal of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in August, 2021.
Dizzy Pocket Card
The "Dizzy Pocket Card" is a guide to history taking and physical examination developed by Drs. Joel Goebel and David Zee in 1997 and updated with the help of Amir Kheradmand in 2022. This tool is designed to help medical doctors and trainees who are tasked with making an accurate diagnosis leading to effective treatment. It includes a guide to Telehealth examination and acute vestibular syndrome.
VeDA's Triage Protocols
When a patient complains of vertiginous symptoms, they often seek help through a primary care provider (PCP) to identify a cause. In many cases, the PCP will refer the patient to a specialist for in-depth examination and testing, with the ultimate goal of identifying a specific diagnosis that facilitates accurate treatment and a speedy recovery. However, because vertiginous symptoms can arise from different causes that cross medical specialties, it can take many months or even years before patients receive an accurate diagnosis. VeDA developed these straightforward triage protocols to help PCPs differentiate between vestibular and non-vestibular forms of dizziness and quickly refer patients to the appropriate specialist.
