Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

• Published in: Journal of neurosciences in rural practice Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 109 - 110
• Main Author: Guo, Xiang-Dong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: A-12, Second Floor, Sector -2, NOIDA -201301, India Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd 01.01.2011; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Thieme Medical Publishers Inc; Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Care and treatment; Diagnosis; Patient outcomes; Risk factors; Short Communication; Vertigo; India; vertigo; Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
• ISSN: 0976-3147; 0976-3155
• DOI: 10.4103/0976-3147.80091

ABSTRACT Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a common clinical disorder characterized by brief recurrent spells of vertigo often brought about by certain head position changes as may occur with looking up, turning over in bed, or straightening up after bending over. It is important to understand BPPV not only because it may avert expensive and often unnecessary testing, but also because treatment is rapid, easy, and eff ective in >90% of cases. The diagnosis of BPPV can be made based on the history and examination. Patients usually report episodes of spinning evoked by certain movements, such as lying back or getting out of bed, turning in bed, looking up, or straightening after bending over. At present, the generally accepted recurrence rate of BPPV after successful treatment is 40%–50% at 5 years of average follow-up. There does appear to be a subset of individuals prone to multiple recurrences..