Clinical management of a patient with a 12-year history of a balance disorder

A 69-year-old man presented with a 12-year history of balance difficulties. He had been admitted to a hospital 12 years earlier for treatment of nausea, vomiting, and left-upper-quadrant pain, and he was given intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Treatment alleviated his symptoms, but he noticed that once he was out of bed, he was unable to maintain his balance and had to hold on to the IV pole. Ever since then, his symptoms had persisted.