SynthesisPloS one2026
Dizziness in the emergency department and risk of stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- A Guide to Patients with Acute Transient Vestibular Symptoms in the Emergency Department.Brain sciences · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDizziness is a frequent emergency department (ED) presentation, and a subset of patients, especially those with isolated dizziness without focal neurological deficits, have stroke but are prone to misdiagnosis and adverse outcomes. Reported stroke prevalence in ED dizziness cohorts is highly heterogeneous, and comprehensive assessments of isolated dizziness remain limited.
methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library for relevant studies. We included cross-sectional studies reporting stroke prevalence among all ED patients with dizziness or isolated dizziness. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis to calculate pooled prevalence. Subgroup analyses and Egger's test were employed to explore heterogeneity and publication bias. The diagnostic accuracy of bedside diagnostic tools was also systematically reviewed.
resultsTwenty-nine studies involving 161,013 ED patients presenting with dizziness were included. The pooled stroke prevalence among all ED dizziness patients (n = 158,583) was 5.5% (95% CI: 4.1-7.1). Among patients with isolated dizziness (n = 2,559), the pooled prevalence was 13.9% (95% CI: 8.2-20.9), substantially higher than in the overall dizziness cohort. Subgroup analyses indicated diagnostic methods and hospital level as major contributors to heterogeneity. Summary analysis of bedside diagnostic tools showed that HINTS and STANDING examinations have high diagnostic accuracy overall, while the TriAGe+ score can be applied flexibly for screening or confirmation based on different cut-off points.
conclusionsED patients with dizziness carry a meaningful, setting-dependent stroke risk. Standardized bedside exams (HINTS, STANDING) improve early triage, and selectively deploying neuroimaging helps prevent missed strokes when risk is high.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.