Post Traumatic Vertigo Case Study

I chose to do my discussion on the 50-year-old women. When talking with the patient I would first gather all the subjective data. It’s important to get to the source of the problem and by discussing her signs and symptoms we have a clearer picture of what diagnostic tests should be done. Her main complaints were headache, decreased range of motion in her neck, vertigo, hearing loss in one ear, and uncontrolled eye movements. She has also been in a motor vehicle accident three days ago. Being that she was in a MVA, my first instinct would be trauma. I feel that before any other tests are performed or manipulation of assessing her head, she should have a stat CT scan to rule out any life-threatening issues to her head, neck and or spine. Depending on the results of the CT scan, we would know if further advanced imaging tests are needed, like an MRI.
Head trauma can cause multiple symptoms related to vertigo. Per a journal article I read on post-traumatic vertigo, there are several different possible causes of her vertigo symptoms. It could involve the vestibular system, which contains the proprioceptive system and labyrinth of the cervical region. Evaluating for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), labyrinthine injury, cervical injury, and perilymph fistula are also important (Taneja, Taneja, & Varshney, 2014). With further tests, along with evaluating her signs and symptoms, and a thorough head to toe assessment, we will hopefully have a clearer picture to differentiate between these conditions. Providing a clear diagnosis would be the goal, so in turn she can start the rehabilitation