ANXIETY SYNDROME IN PATIENTS WITH VERTIGO - A COMPARISON OF NEUROOTOLOGIC FINDINGS IN PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT ANXIETY

Anxiety is a common symptom in vertigo patients, Acute anxiety is know n in neurology and psychiatry as panic disorder. The cardiovascular an d the gastrointestinal subtypes have been used in the classification o f panic disorders up to now, Frommberger and co-workers (1993) have al so defined a vestibular subtype, In this study we have compared the ne urootologic test results of 53 patients with vertigo in combination wi th panic disorder and of 53 patients with balance disorders without an xiety to clarify, whether disturbances in the vestibular systems can b e objectivated or not. Differences of both groups were found in the hi story data, especially in the vertigo characteristics, the accompanyin g vegetative symptoms, the releasing mechanisms, the duration of the a ttacks, and the total time of the dizziness complaints, The mean age w as less significant in the patients with panic disorder than in the co ntrol group, The test results of the anxiety group showed a higher rat e of right-directed spontaneous nystagmus and less pathological vestib ular findings in the caloric and rotating test as well in the Unterber ger stepping test when compared with the control group, Some of the pa tients with panic disorder developed acute anxiety during the examinat ion.