Acute Vestibular Syndrome and ER Presentations of Dizziness

Development of a model to predict the risk of cerebral infarction in acute vestibular syndrome

Objectives

This study aimed to develop a model to predict the risk of cerebral infarction in acute vestibular syndrome and assist emergency physicians in quickly identifying patients with cerebral infarction.

Materials and methods

We looked at 262 patients who were split into cerebral infarction and peripheral vertigo groups. Stepwise regression and Lasso's approach were used to screen for variables, and Boothstrap's method was used to evaluate the model's discrimination and calibration. The model's performance was compared against TriAGe+, ABCD2, and PCI scores using the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve. Clinical decision-making was aided by the use of clinical impact and decision curves.

Results

In the end, nine risk factors were chosen for model 2, and ten risk factors were chosen for model 1. Model 2 was adopted as the final model. The areas under the receiver operator curve value of the model2 were 0.910(P = 0.000), much higher than the areas under the receiver operator curve value of the TriAGe + scores system and that of the PCI scores system. The clinical decision curve shows that when the threshold probability is 0.05, using the nomogram to predict cerebral infarction has more benefits than either the treat-all-patients scheme or the treat-none scheme. The clinical impact curve shows that when the threshold probability is 0.6 the model predicts disease occurrence in general agreement with the occurrence of the real disease.

Conclusion

This study model can help emergency room physicians quickly triage and treat patients by accurately identifying cerebral infarction patients.

Corticosteroids for patients with vestibular neuritis: an evidence synthesis for guidelines for reasonable and appropriate care in the emergency department

BACKGROUND

A short course of corticosteroids is among the management strategies considered by specialists for the treatment of vestibular neuritis (VN). We conducted an umbrella review (systematic review of systematic reviews) to summarize the evidence of corticosteroids use for the treatment of VN.

METHODS

We included systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that evaluated the effects of corticosteroids as compared to placebo or usual care in adult patients with acute VN. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened in duplicate. The quality of reviews was assessed with the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR-2) tool. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) assessment was used to rate certainty of evidence. No meta-analysis was performed.

RESULTS

From 149 titles, 5 systematic reviews were selected for quality assessment, and 2 reviews were of higher methodological quality and were included. These 2 reviews included 12 individual studies and 660 patients with VN. In a meta-analysis of 2 RCTs including a total of 50 patients, the use of corticosteroids (as compared to placebo) was associated with higher complete caloric recovery (risk ratio 2.81, 95% CI 1.32 to 6.00, low certainty). It is very uncertain whether this translates into clinical improvement as shown by the imprecise effect estimates for outcomes such as patient-reported vertigo or patient-reported dizziness disability. There was a wide confidence interval for the outcome of dizziness handicap score (1 study, 30 patients, 20.9 points in corticosteroids group vs 15.8 points in placebo, mean difference +5.1, 95% CI -8.09 to +18.29, very low certainty). Higher rates of minor adverse effects for those receiving corticosteroids were reported, but the certainty in this evidence was very low.

CONCLUSIONS

There is limited evidence to support the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of vestibular neuritis in the emergency department.