title: Long-term outcome and health-related quality of life in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.
abstract: A prospective cohort study was designed to evaluate the long-term outcome and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (PC-BPPV) treated by the particle repositioning maneuver (PRM) in the outpatient clinic of a general community hospital. Fifty individuals with PC-BPPV were included, and 45 (90%) completed the study. The diagnosis was based on the history of short episodes of vertigo and a positional nystagmus during the Dix-Hallpike test (DHT). All patients were treated by a single PRM, and relapses were evaluated by DHT at 30, 180 and 360 days post-treatment; a new PRM was performed if the DHT was positive. The main outcome measures were: percentage of patients with a negative DHT after treatment, scores obtained on the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory Short Form (DHI-S) before and 30, 180 and 360 days post-treatment. The DHT was found negative in 80% (40/50) of individuals at 30 days. Ten, seven and five patients presented a positive DHT at 30, 180 and 360 days, respectively. Persistent BPPV was observed in 5% (2/50) of patients at 360 days, despite repeated PRM. Relapses (DH+ after successful PRM) were observed in 7.5% (3/50) at 180 days and 360 days. Both questionnaires showed a reliability Cronbach's alpha >0.7. The average standardized score for each SF-36 scale was compared with the reference population normative data, showing differences with norms for all scales except for vitality. After PRM, patients improved their scores with both instruments, indicating a restoration of HRQoL at 30 days. Physical dimension scores of the SF-36 improved from day 30 to 360. DHI-S scores were statistically better after PRM (P < 0.001). Our results show that the effectiveness of PRM is 88% after 1 year of follow-up. Patients with BPPV experienced a decrease in HRQoL, which was restored after PRM. Although relapses were observed in 7.5% of individuals, they did not affect HRQoL.
authors.affiliation: Otology and Neurotology Group CTS495 of the Department of Surgery, Hospital de Poniente, Almería, Spain. jalopeze@cajamar.es
authors.forename: Jose A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lopez-Escamez
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gamiz
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Perez
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomez-Fiñana
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011187:Posture; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000503:physiopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014717:Vertigo / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*