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Vertigo during the Epley maneuver and success rate in patients with BPPV

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To investigate whether reported vertigo during the Epley maneuver predicts therapeutic success in patients with benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo of the posterior semicircular canal (pc-BPPV). Fifty consecutive adult patients with pc-BPPV, based on a positive Dix–Hallpike test (DHT), were treated with the Epley maneuver and retested after 2 days. Patients were asked to report the presence of vertigo upon assuming each of the four positions of the maneuver. Thirty seven patients (74 %) were treated successfully in one session. Twenty out of 23 patients who reported vertigo at turning the head to the opposite side (2nd position) had a negative DHT on follow-up. These patients had a higher chance of a successful outcome compared to patients who did not report vertigo in the 2nd position (Odds ratio 5.3, 95 % CI: 1.3–22.2, p = 0.022). Report of vertigo at the other positions was not associated with the outcome. Report of vertigo at the second position of a single modified Epley maneuver is associated with therapeutic success.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1st Academic Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, S.Kiriakidi 1, 54636, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Georgios Fyrmpas, Anna Bettina Haidich & Miltiadis Tsalighopoulos

  2. ENT Department, General District Hospital of Katerini, Katerini, Greece

    Eustathios Barkoulas

  3. Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Anna Bettina Haidich

Authors
  1. Georgios Fyrmpas
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  2. Eustathios Barkoulas
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  3. Anna Bettina Haidich
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  4. Miltiadis Tsalighopoulos
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Correspondence to Georgios Fyrmpas.

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Fyrmpas, G., Barkoulas, E., Haidich, A.B. et al. Vertigo during the Epley maneuver and success rate in patients with BPPV. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 270, 2621–2625 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-2292-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-2292-0

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