The timing-and-triggers approach to the patient with acute dizziness

Acute dizziness is a common presentation in the emergency department. Due to newer research, the diagnostic approach to dizziness has changed, now focusing on its timing and triggers of instead of the patient's symptom quality (vertigo versus lightheadedness). Each timing-and-triggers category has its own differential diagnosis and diagnostic approach, which will aid emergency clinicians in distinguishing benign causes of dizziness from life-threatening causes. Brain imaging, even with magnetic resonance imaging, has important limitations in ruling out stroke presenting with dizziness. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo can be treated with repositioning maneuvers at the bedside, offering cost-effective management options.