Analysis of the efficacy of different timing of vestibular rehabilitation interventions in the acute phase of vestibular neuritis

Abstract

Objective:To investigate the impact of time interval from symptoms onset to vestibular rehabilitation on the recovery of patients in the acute phase of vestibular neuritis. Methods:Thirty-one patients with vestibular neuritis treated in outpatient and inpatient settings from December 2019 to July 2021 were selected and randomly divided into vestibular rehabilitation group and general treatment group. The vestibular rehabilitation group was subdivided into early-intervention group （1-week after symptom onset） and late-intervention group （2-week after symptom onset） according to the interval from the onset to vestibular rehabilitation. The differences in DP, UW, VOR, DHI, BBS and SAS values at 1 month and 3 months after treatment were compared among early-intervention group（11 cases）, late-intervention group （10 cases） and general treatment group（10 cases）. Results:For patients in the vestibular rehabilitation group and the general treatment group, DP, UW, VOR gain, DHI score and SAS score were significantly different after treatment （ P<0.05） and no significant difference was found in BBS score （P>0.05 ）. Pairwise comparisons between early-intervention and late-intervention group showed that the DP, UW and VOR gain were significantly different （P<0.05）, while the score of DHI and SAS were not significantly different （P>0.05）. Conclusion:Vestibular rehabilitation therapy can accelerate vestibular compensation, relieve vertigo symptoms and anxiety symptoms in patients with vestibular neuritis. It is better to be carried out within 1 week after symptom onset.