Background and Objectives: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes of peripheral vestibular disorder and canalith repositioning procedure (CRP) has been popularly used as its treatment. While CRP has
been
advocated by some as a treatment of choice for BPPV, others have had less uniform results for this disorder. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the CRP and to define the role of the CRP in BPPV.
Materials and Method: From January, 1999 to September, 2001, 123 patients diagnosed as BPPV were included in this study. Each patients was undergone by personal history taking and Dix-Hallpike maneuver and supine head turning test for
diagnosis.
CRP was applied on all the patients and the patients visited OPD 1week later for evaluation.
Results: The mean age was 51.8 year old in males, and 52.7 year old in females. The most common cause of the disorder was idiopathic and the second common cause was post-traumatic. Posterior semicircular canal was the most common involved
site
and horizontal, anterior semicircular canal in order. After the initial CRP, successful results were obtained in 90 of the 123 patients (75.6%). Recurrence rate was 31 of the 123 patients and among them, 3 patients recurred in different
canal.
Conclusions: Careful observation of the nystagmus is necessary for correct identification of the canal which is involved, and that to perform the appropriate treatment. Although BPPV is known as a self-limited disorder, CRP can help to
induce
remission of the vertiginous symptoms in short period.
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