Current Perspectives in the Pharmacotherapy of Vertigo

Abstract

Vertigo is a symptom encountered very commonly in clinical practice due to a disorder in the vestibular system. In addition to dizziness it is very often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Pharmacotherapy plays an important role in the management of vertigo. Vestibular suppressants and drugs to control nausea and vomiting constitute the mainstay of the pharmacotherapy of vertigo. Specific drug therapy can be given in patients where the underlying disease process causing the vertigo has been identified. Despite the availability of many classes of drugs, there are no definitive, universally accepted guidelines for the treatment of vertigo which makes it even more difficult to follow first-, second- and third-line therapies when treating patients. It is difficult to establish guidelines or a generally acceptable consensus in the treatment of vertigo due to the complexity of vertigo and lack of adequate randomized clinical studies.