Table 1.
Determinants of prescribing antivertiginous drugs by GPs for older patients with a new episode of non-vestibular dizziness
| N (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Prescription of AVD: yes (n = 151) | Prescription of AVD: no (n = 1489) | Univariate P-value | Multileve analysis OR (95% CI) |
| Age, years | ||||
| 65-74 | 82 (54.3) | 710 (47.7) | 0.121 | |
| 75-84 | 56 (37.1) | 593 (39.8) | 0.512 | |
| ≥85 | 13(8.6) | 186 (12.5) | 0.164 | |
| Female | 110 (72.8) | 945 (63.5) | 0.022 | |
| Presented dizziness symptom | ||||
| Dizziness | 95 (62.9) | 968 (65.0) | 0.607 | |
| Spinning sensation | 52 (34.4) | 178 (12.0) | <0.001 | 3.6 (2.4 to 5.4) |
| Near faint | 2 (1.3) | 183 (12.3) | <0.001 | 0.1 (0.04 to 0.5) |
| Feeling unwell | 3 (2.0) | 115 (7.7) | 0.009 | |
| Lightheadedness | 3 (2.0) | 75 (5.0) | 0.093 | |
| Loss of equilibrium | 10 (6.6) | 35 (2.4) | 0.002 | 3.7 (1.7 to 8.0) |
| Unsteadiness | 5 (3.3) | 39 (2.6) | 0.616 | |
| Tendency to fall | 4 (2.6) | 37 (2.5) | 0.902 | |
| Instability | 1 (0.7) | 32 (2.1) | 0.215 | |
| Giddy | 0 (0.0) | 32 (2.1) | 0.069 | |
| Everything turning black | 0 (0.0) | 30 (2.0) | 0.078 | |
AVD = antivertiginous drug. OR = odds ratio.