Multidisciplinary evaluation of elder people suffering from dizziness

Abstract

The medical examination of elder people suffering from dizziness is often frustrating. Generally the physical examination is not specific, because of the fact that, in most cases, the patient can’t clearly express his/her complaints, what brings difficulties to the evaluation process. Most of the patients present several types of dizziness coming from different origins, despite their complaints are very similar. Actually the dizziness sensation is very subjective because of the fact that only the patient him/herself can feel it, therefore talking about this. In addition many constituents of its symptoms are recurrent and very seldom is the patient dizzy, what brings again difficulties to an objective evaluation. The physical evaluation of an ill patient, who shows this symptoms, allows the patient to know little more about his/her physical limitations, hence understanding some obscure details about his/her sickness. To reach the aim of this paper which is to show that the characterization and objective evaluation of this disease is possible, elder people suffering from dizziness were checked by a multidisciplinary medical geriatric team, composed by a geriatric, a physiotherapist and a psychologist as well.