Revista de Otologia e Rinologia

Disability in Protracted Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo at One Month from Symptom Onset- a Questionnaire Survey

Kabaya K, Kondo M,Naganuma H, Nakamura Y, Mihara T, Umibe A, Sato T, Imai T, Suzuki K, Ishii M, Takei Y, Fushiki H, Kiyomizu K, Goto F, Fukui A, Sakamoto N, Horii A,Nakayama M,Iwasaki S

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the disability of patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) at one month from symptom onset. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at multiple institutions. One hundred and seventeen BPPV patients at one month from symptom onset were included (32 male, 85 female; mean age 67.7 years). After answering whether their symptoms were cured or persistent, patients completed 3 questionnaires: the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), The Vertigo Symptom Scale-Short Form (VSS-sf) to assess the frequency of vestibular and autonomic symptoms, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The presence of nystagmus and type of BPPV were also checked. and 62 (53.0%) reported persistent symptoms (protracted). Among the protracted patients, 44 (71.0%) patients had positional/positioning nystagmus while 18 (29.0%) patients did not. The protracted patients with nystagmus showed significantly higher DHI scores in total, physical and functional components compared with the cured patients (p<0.05). The protracted patients without nystagmus showed significantly higher DHI scores in physical components than the cured patients (p<0.05). The protracted patients with/without nystagmus showed significantly higher vestibular symptoms scores in VSS-sf and depressive scores in HADS in comparison with the cured patients (p<0.05). Conclusion: About a half of BPPV patients continue to have dizziness at one month from symptom onset. These patients have higher levels of disability in daily life and feelings of depression.