Vertigo Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vertigo, including details on causes, symptoms, treatment, dizziness.

Short-term efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre: a double-blind randomised trial.

von Brevern M, Seelig T, Radtke A, Tiel-Wilck K, Neuhauser H, Lempert T

Department of Neurology, Charité, Campus Virchow-Klinkum, Berlin, Germany. michael.von_brevern@charite.de

BACKGROUND: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the posterior canal (PC-BPPV) is a common vestibular disorder and can be easily treated with Epley's manoeuvre. Thus far, the short-term efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre for treatment of PC-BPPV is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre for treatment of PC-BPPV 24 h after applying the manoeuvre. METHODS: The short-term efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre was compared with a sham procedure in 66 patients with PC-BPPV by using a double-blind randomised study design. RESULTS: 24 h after treatment, 28 of 35 (80%) patients in the Epley's manoeuvre group had neither vertigo nor nystagmus on positional testing compared with 3 of 31 (10%) patients in the sham group (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Epley's manoeuvre is shown to resolve PC-BPPV both effectively and rapidly.

Published 17 July 2006 in J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 77(8): 980-2.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Vertigo Research Today. All Rights Reserved.