Dizziness is a symptom that can be linked to a wide-range of\nconditions, from something relatively benign such as dehydration, a chronic problem\nsuch as anxiety, or with conditions as serious as a stroke or multiple\nsclerosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAbout 15 percent of those visiting the emergency room have\ndevastating neurological conditions such as stroke or multiple sclerosis that\nrequire urgent attention,\u201d said Aasef Shaikh,MD, PhD, the Penni and Stephen\nWeinberg Chair in Brain Health at the University Hospitals Neurological\nInstitute and a research scientist from the Cleveland Functional Electrical\nStimulation (FES) Center at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Shaikh recently led an international taskforce of experts to develop\nglobally accepted, consensus-based guidelines to help emergency room doctors\ndiagnose and triage patients with dizzy symptoms over a telehealth, virtual\nplatform. This taskforce, consisting of two dozen expert physician-scientists\nfrom 10 countries, had its work endorsed and published<\/a>\nby the International Society for Research in Cerebellum and Ataxias. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are very few doctors who have adequate experience to treat the complex problem of dizziness. As our world is going through the crisis in a contagious pandemic, the doctors were strained in triaging their patients with dizziness based on new priorities,\u201d said Dr. Shaikh.\u00a0 \u201cThey had to determine which patients should be attended expeditiously and who could wait.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The taskforce offered two important tips: (1) How to\nidentify a patient who needs urgent evaluation, expedited evaluation, or one\nwho could wait to be seen in clinic at a later date; and (2) How to evaluate a patient with dizziness using the virtual\nplatform of telemedicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The guidelines were prepared in such a way that they become helpful\nfor any healthcare provider working in the urgent care, emergency room, or\ngeneral practice, said Dr. Shaikh. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, the taskforce believes that telemedicine for patients\nwith dizziness will resolve many logistic issues even after the COVID-19 crisis\nis over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was an era before COVID-19, and there will be a different time after,\u201d said Dr. Shaikh. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The taskforce also shared a word of caution. They believe,\nno matter how advanced healthcare systems become in using virtual ways to treat\npatients, the human interaction of the in-person consultation will continue to\nbe an important component in the healing process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe future guidelines for telemedicine should be informed by evidence that weighs up the pros and cons personal versus telemedicine consultations.\u00a0 Whatever the coming years will bring, it seems clear that telemedicine has received an immediate boost to its uptake with major implications. This could mean a major paradigm shift in favor of for time- and resource-management in healthcare,\u201d said Dr. Shaikh. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n About University Hospitals<\/strong> About Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center<\/strong>The Cleveland VA Medical Center\u00a0is the hub of VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, providing and coordinating primary, acute and specialty care. Focusing on treating the whole Veteran through health promotion and disease prevention, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System delivers comprehensive, seamless health care and social services for more than 112,000 Veterans at 18 locations across Northeast Ohio. VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System contributes to the future of medicine through education, training and research programs. For more information visit\u00a0www.cleveland.va.gov<\/a>. About Cleveland FES Center<\/strong> Media Contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n George Stamatis Kristen Parker
\n\n\n\n
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system\u2019s flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located in Cleveland\u2019s University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including \u201cAmerica\u2019s Best Hospitals\u201d from U.S. News & World Report. Advancing the Science of Health and the Art of Compassion is UH\u2019s vision for benefitting its patients into the future, and the organization\u2019s unwavering mission is To Heal. To Teach. To Discover. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cleveland FES Center is a consortium of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, and the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute. With their support, researchers, engineers and clinicians collaborate together to develop innovative solutions that improve the quality of life of individuals with neurological or other muscular skeletal impairments. Through the use of neurostimulation and neuromodulation research and applications, the Cleveland FES Center leads the translation of this technology into clinical deployment.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
University Hospitals
216-346-9323
george.stamatis@uhhosppitals.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
216-791-3800
Kristen.Parker@va.gov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fescenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/logos-1024x121.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"