Treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo by canalith repositioning procedure: experience from Srinagarind Hospital.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of vertigo. The diagnosis is confirmed by observing a classical response during the Dix-Hallpike maneuver. The cause of BPPV is usually idiopathic. There are two popular hypotheses described regarding the pathogenesis of BPPV. The first one is the "cupulolithiasis" hypothesis, and the second hypothesis, the so-called "canalithiasis" hypothesis. The clinical course of BPPV is spontaneous recovery in weeks or months. Treatments for BPPV have ranged from no intervention to surgical treatment. The new treatment, "Canalith-repositioning procedure (CRP)" which was introduced by Epley in 1992 produces a very high rate of success. This treatment has caused interest and has been modified and studied worldwide in recent years. OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of the canalith-repositioning procedure that we modified from Epley's maneuver in the treatment of BPPV patients. DESIGN: A descriptive study. The BPPV patients, who came to the neurotologic clinic at Srinagarind Hospital from January 1997 to December 1998, were treated with our technique that was modified from Epley's maneuver. We neither used pre-medication, a mastoid oscillator, nor post-treatment instruction. RESULTS: The total number of patients included in this study was 19. The efficacy of this procedure for curing nystagmus and vertigo was 89.5 per cent. One patient did not follow-up and one patient did not respond to the CRP. Complication such as vago-vagal reflex, lateral canalithiasis, occurred in 5.3 per cent of the patients. The recurrence of BPPV in our study was 26.3 per cent. However, CRP was also effective in treatment of both patients with recurrence as well as those without recurrence. CONCLUSION: The canalith-repositioning procedure that is modified from Epley is effective in the treatment of BPPV.