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Reliability of an anamnestic questionnaire for the diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in the elderly

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Abstract

Background

There is common agreement in the literature that it can result in an underestimation of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in the elderly.

Aims

The aim of this work was to analyze the role of anamnesis in the diagnosis of BPPV in patients of different ages through the development and validation of a scored questionnaire.

Methods

The questionnaire is based on the presence/absence of six typical anamnestic features of BPPV. The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMS) was also administered to patients over 65 years of age. Bedsides, examination for BPPV was then carried out, assigning the outcome of the questionnaire and eventual MMS to the final diagnosis for each patient.

Results

The sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire for high scores (>8) were found to be, respectively, 86 % and 80 % in all patients, 94 and 71 % in those under 65 years of age, 78 and 90 % in patients over 65, and, in particular, 63 and 83 % in those with MMS >24 and 100 and 100 % in those with MMS ≤24.

Discussion

The reliability and average score of the questionnaire were statistically significantly lower in the group of elderly patients without cognitive deficits. The lower reliability of the questionnaire in the geriatric population, rather than the presence of cognitive deterioration, seems to correlate with other comorbidities or simply to a lower mobility of the head triggering positional symptoms.

Conclusion

The use of the questionnaire could however reduce the risk of a missed diagnosis of BPPV given its good reliability across all ages.

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Acknowledgments

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical and Biomedical Sciences, Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Ruggero Lapenna, Mario Faralli, Maria Rita Del Zompo, Laura Cipriani, Puya Dehgani Mobaraki & Giampietro Ricci

  2. Otorhinolaryngology Clinic, S. M. della Misericordia Hospital, Via G. Dottori 1, S. Andrea delle Fratte, 06100, Perugia, Italy

    Ruggero Lapenna

Authors
  1. Ruggero Lapenna
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  2. Mario Faralli
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  3. Maria Rita Del Zompo
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  4. Laura Cipriani
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  5. Puya Dehgani Mobaraki
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  6. Giampietro Ricci
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Correspondence to Ruggero Lapenna.

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Statement of human and animal rights

The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards of the relevant national and institutional guidelines on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants in the study.

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Lapenna, R., Faralli, M., Del Zompo, M.R. et al. Reliability of an anamnestic questionnaire for the diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in the elderly. Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 881–888 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0487-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0487-0

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