1. Background and purpose
Dizziness is one of the most common symptoms that patients complain about, and it is physical imbalance felt subjectively. More than 50% of the elderly complain of dizziness, and it is the most common cause of visiting a doctor in patients over the age of 75.
Considering the importance of vertigo (dizziness), which is expected to occupy a high proportion in the medical environment in the future, it is necessary to develop an Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline, which is the basis for Korean medicine treatment.
the standard clinical practice guidelines for vertigo (dizziness) are based on the scientific basis for the algorithm for diagnosing KCD disease for vertigo (dizziness), standard dialectic criteria for Korean medicine, and Korean medicine interventions (acupuncture, herbal medicine, herbal acupuncture, manual therapy, and mental and physical therapy). It provides recommendation based on the guideline.
this clinical practice guideline was developed to be mainly used by Korean medicine clinics (primary medical institutions), Korean medicine hospitals (secondary medical institutions), and Korean medicine doctors in public medical institutions for vertigo (dizziness).
2. Overview of disease
Dizziness is an abnormal sensation such as feeling of dizziness, fainting, or spinning. In Korean medicine, the term 眩暈(pronounced as ‘hyeonhun’) is mainly used. 眩 (pronounced as ‘hyeon’) means that things are dark or that things appear dim and sometimes the fire flashes in front of your eyes, and 暈 (pronounced as ‘hun’) means that you cannot stand because you or your surroundings seem to be turning. In severe cases, symptoms such as tinnitus, hearing loss, nausea, vomiting, chills, and sudden confusion may be accompanied.
the dizziness expressed by the patient is very diverse, but it can be classified into five types: vertigo(眩暈), disequilibrium, presyncope, lightheadedness, and others according to the manifestation pattern and cause.
the cause is mainly caused by an abnormality in the vestibular system, and the causative disease of the vestibular system can be classified again into peripheral and central.
Dizziness in Korean medicine can be classified into blood-stasis pattern, wind-damp pattern, upsurge of liver-yang pattern, water-qi intimidating the heart pattern, and Kidney yin-deficiency pattern, Kidney yang-deficiency pattern, bilateral deficiency of heart and spleen pattern, and etc., or according to Sasang
constitution.
Generally in Korean medicine, acupuncture treatment and herbal medicine treatment, etc. are provided and herbal acupuncture therapy, manual therapy, mental and physical and other therapies can be used, and treatment according to Sasang constitutional diagnosis. Medically, drug treatment can be utilized, and combination treatment with western medicine is sometimes performed.
In order to prevent central dizziness, risk factors that may worsen or cause symptoms such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia must be continuously managed.