ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Until recently, three variants of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) have been recognized: the first is posterior-canal canalolithiasis, the second is horizontal-canal canalolithiasis, and the last is horizontal-canal cupulolithiasis. However, the last two types of BPPV have not been introduced into the textbook of Emergency Medicine yet. The otolith repositioning maneuvers are effective treatments for BPPV, but in emergency medicine, there has been little interest in and research on them. Our goals were to determine the efficacies of these treatments and to examine the clinical features of each types of BPPV. METHODS: We performed a 6-month prospective study on forty-one patients (47 cases) who presented with a history and physical examination consistent with active BPPV to the emergency departments of a secondary hospital and a tertiary hospital (Dec. 2001-May. 2002). The patients were treated with a modified Epley canalith repositioning maneuver for posterior-canal BPPV, a modified Barbecue rotation for horizontal-canal canalolithiasis, and the maneuver of Jo et al. for horizontal-canal cupulolithiasis. RESULTS: A resolution attributable to the first intervention was obtained in 71.4% of the posterior-canal BPPV cases by using the modified Epley maneuver and in 73.1% of the horizontal-canal BPPV cases by using a modified Barbecue rotation and the maneuver of Jo et al. CONCLUSION: The otolith repositioning maneuvers result in a resolution of vertigo in the majority of patients (84.8% of the cases) immediately after treatment. They are safe and require no special equipment or investigations. They should be established as the treatments of choice for BPPV in emergency department.