Vestibular and balance disorders in Mexican children and adolescents: Review of 8-year clinical records

Kioko Ishiwara-Niembro; Miguel Angel Pérez-Rodríguez; Fernando Alfonso Navarro-Cervantes; Jaime Abraham Jiménez-Pérez

doi:10.1016/j.otorri.2020.02.011

Vestibular and balance disorders in Mexican children and adolescents: Review of 8-year clinical records

Acta Otorrinolaringol Esp (Engl Ed). 2021 May-Jun;72(3):137-142. doi: 10.1016/j.otorri.2020.02.011. Epub 2020 Aug 22.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Authors

Kioko Ishiwara-Niembro¹, Miguel Angel Pérez-Rodríguez², Fernando Alfonso Navarro-Cervantes³, Jaime Abraham Jiménez-Pérez⁴

Affiliations

¹ Servicio de Otoneurología, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Dr. Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra, Tlalpan, México.
² Servicio de Audiología, Hospital para el Niño Poblano, San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, México. Electronic address: feverab@hotmail.com.
³ Audiología, Otoneurología y Foniatría, Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Dr. Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra, Tlalpan, México.
⁴ Servicio de Audiología; Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitación Dr. Guillermo Ibarra Ibarra, Tlalpan, México.

PMID: 32843142
DOI: 10.1016/j.otorri.2020.02.011

Abstract

Introduction: Vertigo is a seldom studied symptom in the paediatric population, where the prevalence is less than 1%. Vestibular disorders in children are not comparable to those of adults and are often underdiagnosed. Identifying the main causes of these disorders would provide reliable and accurate data of the diseases in certain age groups, improving the diagnostic process.

Material and methods: Observational, cross-sectional, and retrospective study. Consecutive records of patients, aged 3 to 17years, attended due to vestibular, balance and associated symptoms (vertigo, dizziness, hearing loss, balance disorders and headache), attended by the otoneurology service of a tertiary hospital, between September 2010 and September 2018, were included. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analysis. All p-values reported from these analyses were two-tailed with a significance level <.05.

Results: 212 cases were registered from 6,444 consultations (3.3%). The proportion between males and females was similar. The mean age of the group was 14.5 (±3.9) years, the median age of onset of symptoms was 11 (IQR 8-14) years and that of the first consultation was 13 (IQR 10-15) years. As a cardinal symptom, 51.9% attended due to vertigo, 25.5% due to dizziness, 9.9% due to gait instability, 7.5% due to hearing loss and 5.2% due to headache. Of the episodes of vertigo, 61.8% were of peripheral origin, 69 32.5% central and 12 5.7% outside the vestibular system. Benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood, dysfunction and vestibular migraine accounted for more than 65% of cases. No differences were found between the diagnoses regarding the sex and age of the participants (P>.05).

Conclusion: Vestibular and balance disorders are rare in the study population and most of the causes are benign and potentially self-limited disorders.

Keywords: Enfermedades vestibulares; Gait disorders; Trastornos de la marcha; Vertigo; Vestibular diseases; Vértigo.