Documented Dizziness Among Patients with Cervical Spine Disorders: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Medical Record Study

Objective: To estimate the frequency of documented dizziness among patients with cervical muscle spasm, cervical disc prolapses, or cervical spondylosis and to explore associations with demographic, occupational, and clinical characteristics. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional medical-record review included 207 inpatients and outpatients with imaging-confirmed cervical disc prolapse (n=104), cervical muscle spasm (n=68), or cervical spondylosis (n=35) treated at Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2023. Potentially eligible records were identified through the radiology department by searching the health information system for prespecified ICD-10 codes; 560 records were screened, and 353 were excluded. Electronic medical records were reviewed across relevant departments using a standardized case report form. The primary outcome was documented dizziness; collected variables included sociodemographic characteristics, occupational exposures, cervical diagnosis, comorbidities, symptoms, and medication history. Frequencies were reported with 95% confidence intervals, and subgroup analyses were exploratory. Results: Dizziness was documented in 76 of 207 patients (36.7%; 95% CI, 30.4%–43.5%). Within diagnostic groups, dizziness was documented in 44 of 104 patients with cervical disc prolapse (42.3%; 95% CI, 33.3%–51.9%), 14 of 35 with cervical spondylosis (40.0%; 95% CI, 25.6%–56.4%), and 18 of 68 with cervical muscle spasm (26.5%; 95% CI, 17.4%–38.0%). Among the 76 patients with documented dizziness, 44 (57.9%) had disc prolapse, 18 (23.7%) had muscle spasm, and 14 (18.4%) had spondylosis. Exploratory subgroup analyses identified higher odds of documented dizziness among females in the muscle-spasm group (odds ratio, 3.35; 95% CI, 1.10–10.22) and among patients with headache in the disc-prolapse group (odds ratio, 4.22; 95% CI, 1.05–16.93). These unadjusted findings require cautious interpretation because of small cell counts and multiple testing. Conclusions: Dizziness was documented in more than one-third of patients with the selected cervical disorders. Because dizziness was identified retrospectively and competing causes were not systematically excluded, the findings demonstrate symptom coexistence rather than confirmed cervicogenic dizziness. Prospective studies using standardized dizziness classification and systematic assessment of competing causes are needed.