Clinical progress note: Diagnostic approach to dizziness and vertigo

Dizziness is a common clinical presentation that incurs huge financial costs. It is frequently misdiagnosed due to a wide differential involving both benign (inner ear disease) and serious (stroke) disorders. Traditional frameworks that emphasize symptom quality (dizziness/lightheadedness/vertigo) lack diagnostic utility. This Clinical Progress Note reviews the literature on acute dizziness evaluation in adult patients and presents an evidence-based framework for hospitalists to diagnose the majority of undifferentiated dizzy patients at the bedside. Future research should assess the validity of this approach with hospitalists' ability to accurately diagnose dizzy patients, and its impact on patient care and healthcare outcomes.