Different clinical course of BPPV according to the medical conditions

Abstract

Dizziness is one of the most prevalent complaints in medicine, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) accounts for one-third of all cases. The present study was aimed at identifying differences in the course and prognosis of BPPV depending on the patient’s medical condition during hospitalization. Patients in group 1 were hospitalized due to trauma, those in group 2 for scheduled surgery, and those in group 3 for medical treatment. The intervals from admission to symptom onset, surgery to symptom onset, and symptom onset to ENT department referral were compared. The interval from admission to symptom onset was shortest in group 1 (3.1 ± 8.0 days) and differed significantly from that in group 3 (20.0 ± 35.0 days, p < 0.001). The interval from surgery to symptom onset for group 2 was 5.6 ± 5.8 days and was significantly shorter than that from admission to symptom onset for group 3 (p = 0.014). The interval from symptom onset to ENT referral in group 3 (2.0 ± 2.8 days) was significantly shorter than in groups 1 and 2 (4.1 ± 5.1 and 4.0 ± 3.6 days, p = 0.008 and p = 0.002, respectively). The findings imply that the course of BPPV differed according to the patients’ medical condition.