The presentation of acute vertigo may represent both a common benign disorder or a life threatening but rare one. Familiarity with the common peripheral vestibular disorders will allow the clinician to rapidly “rule-in” a benign disorder and recognize when further testing is required. Key features of vertigo required to make an accurate diagnosis are duration, chronicity, associated symptoms, and triggers. Bedside tests that are critical to the diagnosis of acute vertigo include the Dix-Hallpike maneuver and canalith repositioning manuever, occlusive ophthalmoscopy, and the head impulse test. The goal of this review is to provide the clinician with the clinical and pathophysiologic background of the most common disorders that present with vertigo to develop a logical differential diagnosis and management plan.
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