Open AccessUpdate on HINTS Plus, With Discussion of Pitfalls and Pearls
Author(s) -
Jorge C. Kattah
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of neurologic physical therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.046
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1557-0584
pISSN - 1557-0576
DOI - 10.1097/npt.0000000000000274
Subject(s) - vertigo , medicine , benign paroxysmal positional vertigo , nystagmus , physical examination , intensive care medicine , audiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , surgery
The team that manages acute vertigo in patients requires multispecialty skills. This special interest article offers a simplified list of common pitfalls to be avoided when applying the HINTS (Head-Impulse, Nystagmus, Test-of-Skew) Plus examination protocol in patients with acute vertigo. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most frequent cause of positional vertigo. The lack of systematic evaluation of symptom duration and triggers, and/or incomplete target examination, leads to improper diagnosis and management. Pitfalls to avoid and pearls to apply are offered to avoid misclassification of acute vertigo.