Supervisors info:
Κωνσταντίνος Συρίγος, Καθηγητής Ιατρική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ
Ηλίας Κοττέας, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ανδριανή Χαρπίδου, Ακαδημαϊκή Υπότροφος, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Vestibular disorders in children are not uncommon since in the USA they
affect 5% of the children’s population. In the past these problems did not pose
a subject of medical care and they evaded the attention of doctors either from
ignorance or from the complexity of the disorder. In the last few years, the use
of electronic communication media and the improved medical care level, has
led that those patients receive increasing attention.
Especially for children, these disorders have increased interest, since, they
might also cause defected visual stability, something that might lead to
learning disabilities. Also, because viral infections are commonly seen in
children , such as otitis media, they are potentially more vulnerable to damage
of the vestibular apparatus due to infections.
Nevertheless, the children in our country are usually not submitted to
examination for those disorders and as a result, they do not receive medical
care, despite the fact that pediatricians can use easy and inexpensive
screening tests to identify whether a child should be referred to the
otolaryngologist for examination. However, this requires systematic monitoring
of children by a personal pediatrician, awareness of parents and pediatricians
about the symptoms and clinical signs suspect of vestibular disorders and
centers for vestibular disorders that screen and deepen this study.
The present study that we conducted at the Agia Sophia Children's Hospital
consisted of two phases.
In the first phase of the study, we retrospectively reviewed the internal records
of all patients who had been examined in ORL Emergency Department (4.25
years) for balance disorders, dizziness and headache.
In the second phase of the study, we retrospectively reviewed the records of
the children of the vestibular disorders program in order to record the cases of
vestibular neuritis and the ratio of its occurrence in relation to the other
disorders.
The vestibular disorders program of the Agia Sofia Children's Hospital
includes children with the predominant symptom of dizziness, headache,
vertigo, vomiting, fainting episode, or other balance disorders based on the
pediatricians' strong clinical suspicion of disorders in the vestibular system.
The collection of information for the current disease, the individual patient
record and the hereditary family history through a questionnaire, the
homogeneous, as far as possible, clinical examination of the children included
in the program has the primary purpose of the systematic collection of good
quality data in order to systematize the diagnostic and therapeutic process
and to improve their medical care.
Keywords:
Dizziness, Vertigo, Vestibular neuritis, Child, Treatment
