title: Double-blind randomized trial on the efficacy of the Gufoni maneuver for treatment of lateral canal BPPV.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The need for class I and II studies on the efficacy of liberatory maneuvers in the treatment of lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (LC-BPPV) motivated the present double-blind randomized trial on the short-term efficacy of the Gufoni liberatory maneuver (GLM).
  
  
  METHODS
  Double-blind randomized controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-two patients with unilateral LC-BPPV were recruited for a multicentric study. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment by GLM (n = 37) or sham treatment (n = 35). Subjects were followed up twice (at 1 hour and 24 hours) with the supine roll test by blinded examiners.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 1- and 24-hour follow-up, 75.7% and 83.8% of patients, respectively, undergoing GLM had recovered from vertigo, compared to around 10% of patients undergoing the sham maneuver (P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the best of our knowledge, this is the first class I study on the efficacy of the GLM in the treatment of LC-BPPV in both geotropic and apogeotropic forms. GLM proved highly effective compared to the sham maneuver (P < 0.0001). The present class I study of the efficacy of the GLM changes the level of recommendation of the method for treating LC-BPPV from level U to level B for the geotropic variant and from level B to level A for the apogeotropic variant of LC-BPPV.
authors: Dipartimento di Scienze neurologiche e sensoriali, Università di Siena, Siena. marcomand@hotmail.com
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Mandalà
authors: Emanuela
authors: E
authors: Pepponi
authors: Giovanni Paolo
authors: GP
authors: Santoro
authors: Jacopo
authors: J
authors: Cambi
authors: Augusto
authors: A
authors: Casani
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Faralli
authors: Beatrice
authors: B
authors: Giannoni
authors: Mauro
authors: M
authors: Gufoni
authors: Vincenzo
authors: V
authors: Marcelli
authors: Franco
authors: F
authors: Trabalzini
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Vannucchi
authors: Daniele
authors: D
authors: Nuti
mesh_terms: D065635:Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014717:Vertigo / Q000628:therapy*