Benign positional vertigo: recognition and treatment.

Abstract

#### Summary points Dizziness is one of the most common complaints in general practice, and yet doctors often find it difficult to establish a firm diagnosis in individual patients. Benign positional vertigo accounts for about a fifth of the referrals to specialised vertigo clinics1 and is the most commonly missed treatable condition. Fortunately, it can be readily diagnosed by positional testing. Recent insights into its pathophysiology have provided new means of effective treatment that can be applied in clinics. The incidence of benign positional vertigo is conservatively estimated to be 64 per 100000 population per year.2 Therefore a general practitioner is likely to see several new patients every year. Age at onset spans from childhood to senescence, but most patients are over 40.3 4 Women are affected about twice as often as men.5 Most patients report attacks of rotational vertigo of between 10 and 20 seconds that …