Frequency of hospitalized Vestibular neuronitis cases in Germany

Introduction The vestibular neuronitis (VN) is a common form of acute peripheral vestibular vertigo. It is characterized by the symptoms of acute vertigo, ipsilateral tendency to fall, insecure standing and gait, as well as vegetative symptoms. Examination shows a spontaneous nystagmus, a deficit of the vestibulo-ocular reflex and the absence of central signs. In epidemiological studies incidences of 3.5-15.5/100 000 per year are described, but an underestimation of this number is possible.

Material and Methods All inpatient cases with the main diagnosis (MD) of VN in Germany from 2000-2017 were evaluated. The data was provided by the Federal Statistical Office. All inpatients with MD according to ICD10 H81.2 (age, gender and length of stay) were included.

Results The number of inpatient cases with MD VN showed an annual mean of 22 638 cases (range of 10 827–30 354). There was an increase of 180% within the 17 years. Women with VN were hospitalized more frequently than men (1.2:1). In addition, the length of stay decreased by 57% during the observation period. The incidence of annual inpatient averaged 27.4/100 000 inhabitants.

Discussion The steady increase of inpatient VN cases may be explained by demographic change. Thus, treatment at a higher age, accompanied by increased morbidity, is often not possible on an outpatient basis. Moreover, the incidence of VN cases in Germany seems to be higher than described in the literature. However, the data of the Federal Statistical Office do not allow conclusions to be drawn regarding the definition of a new disease or the quality of the examination and the associated diagnostic certainty.

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Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020