Abstract
In this study, we investigated the clinical characteristics of vertigo and disequilibrium in children who visited the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nara Medical University, over the last 14 years. The study group consisted of 61 children (35 girls, 26 boys) aged 15 years or less. The proportion of patients increased with age, and patients older than 13 years accounted for 50% of the study population. The predominant diagnoses were orthostatic dysregulation in 22 cases (36.1%), psychogenic vertigo in 6 cases (9.8%), and Ménière's disease in 4 cases (6.6%). Diseases involving the central nervous system were common in children less than 6 years old, whereas those having a peripheral origin were common in patients more than 13 years. The common concomitant symptoms with vertigo were those involving the autonomic nervous system (44.3%) and the cochlea (32.8%). Audiometry, ABR evaluation, posturography, the Schellong test, and the optokinetic nystagmus test were performed readily and frequently demonstrated abnormal findings; therefore these are the most helpful diagnostic tests in children.
