[Vestibular neuritis - prevalence of inpatient cases in Germany]

The vestibular neuropathy (VN) is a frequently diagnosed, acute peripheral vestibular form of vertigo. Typical symptoms are spinning vertigo, ipsilateral tendency to fall with standing and gait insecurity, and vegetative side effects. Epidemiological studies of VN in the general population are rare and the little existing literature varies in results.

All inpatient VN cases in Germany from 2000 to 2017 were evaluated. The data used was provided by the German Federal Statistical Office. In addition to the annual number of cases, information about age at diagnosis, gender and length of stay were evaluated.

Between 2000-2017, 401 242 inpatient cases with VN were reported in Germany. This translates into a prevalence of 36.7 cases/100 000 individuals in 2017. During the examined 17 years the number of cases with VN in Germany increased by approximately 180 %. Across all years evaluated, VN was observed more often among women than among men. The length of stay decreased continuously by a total of 3.3 days during the observation period.

In 2017, the observed prevalence of VN cases in Germany was 36.7 hospital cases/100 000 individuals. Literature shows a prevalence of non-hospitalized VN cases of 162/100 000 individuals in 2015. Even when taking into account an inaccuracy due to a possible bias, these numbers add up to a much higher prevalence of VN cases than described previously in the literature. The continuous increase in cases with VN in Germany may be associated with demographic changes in age structure and a related higher morbidity.