[Distribution of neurotological findings in patients with cochleovestibular dysfunction]

The relationship between spatial body positioning and environment comes from perfect corporal balance. The three most important systems responsible for this relationship are: the optic system (sight), the proprioceptive system, and the labyrinthine system.

Retrospective clinical. A retrospective study conducted on 3,701 patients of a private otolaryngologic clinic, in Jundiaí - São Paulo - Brazil, who underwent vestibular and cochlear labyrinthine function testing, from 1979 to 2004.

To determinate the syndromic distribution occurred at that population and to correlate its relationship with sex, age, symptomatology, as well as otological, clinical and electronystagmographic findings and which were the most frequent medical specialties who asked for this investigation.

There was found in the studied population a major prevalence on females (1.75:1). Seventy-nine percent of the patients were from 20 to 59 years old, therefore including people in labor age, with a major prevalence of peripheral syndromes, but there was no a preferential age or sex group among the different syndromes. This study also demonstrated that some otoneurological symptoms were common to all kind of otoneurological syndromes, in opposition to the data found in the world literature. Tinnitus, hearing loss, nausea and vomit as well as harmonic alterations on clinical examination were found with more frequency on peripheral syndrome and no harmonic on central syndromes, according to the reviewed literature.

The study conclusions were able to show that the majority of the patients started their investigation with either otolaryngologists or neurologists and 36% of the patients had peripheral syndrome with almost 25% that had normal evaluation.