Diagnostic indices for vertiginous diseases

BMC Neurology

Table 2 Calculation of the diagnostic scores for PPV, BPPV, MD, and VM.

Question - Item/answer	PPV	BPPV	MD	VM
How does your vertigo occur?
in attacks	0		3.77
as persistent vertigo	2.22	-2.35		-1.79
as persistent vertigo with attacks	1.65
What kind of your vertigo do you have?
rotational vertigo	-1.48¹			1.55¹
unsteadiness		-3.26
feeling of being in a lift	1.79	-3.06
lightheadedness			-2.54
How do you perceive the environment during vertigo?
like on a roundabout	-1.48¹			1.55¹
like on a boat
blurred		-3.42	-3.74
How often do you have defective hearing?
never
occasionally				-1.14²
frequently				-1.14²
always				-1.14²
How often do you have ear noises?
never
occasionally				-1.14²
frequently				-1.14²
always		-3.03	5.42	-1.14²
How often do you have sweating/nausea/vomiting?
never			0 = 0 · 0.98
occasionally			0.98 = 1 · 0.98
frequently		-1.21¹	1.95 = 2 · 0.98	2.82
always		-1.21¹	2.93 = 3 · 0.98
How often do you have drop seizures?
never
occasionally
frequently	1.70	-2.95²
always		-2.95²

For answers marked in the questionnaire, the corresponding numbers are added up. Items marked with the same superscript number within one diagnosis are scored only once. E. g. the score for PPV of a patient reporting „rotational vertigo“ or „perception of the environment like on a roundabout“ (both marked by 1) will be diminished by 1.48 no matter whether this patient reports both or only one of these two symptoms. Patients are allowed to check only one answer per question, except for the 2nd and 3rd question.
Examples of calculated scores can be found in the Additional file 1

ISSN: 1471-2377