Objective: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is one of most common
peripheral vestibular disorders. The aim of this study was to identify recurrence
in the long-term follow-up of patients with BPPV after successful canalith
repositioning maneuvers, and to determine which factors contribute to recurrence.
Methods
The authors reviewed the medical records of 202 consecutive patients
with BPPV during the period January 2002 to December 2004 and investigated
112 patients with BPPV treated over the same period. Finally, 71 patients were
enrolled in this study. The estimated risk of recurrence used a Kaplan-Meier
analysis. For long-term follow-up, patients were contacted by telephone for further
information by one experienced doctor.
Results
A total of 71 patients with idiopathic BPPV fulfilled the inclusion criteria.
Forty-two patients had posterior semicircular canal-BPPV and 29 patients
lateral semicircular canal-BPPV. Recurrence rates in the posterior semicircular
canal-and lateral semicircular canal-BPPV were 24% (18/42) and 41% (12/29),
respectively (p>0.05). Recurrence following successful treatment during a longterm
follow-up period was 23 out of 30 patients within 1 year, 5 patients between
1 and 3 years, 1 patient at between 3 and 5 years, 1 patient after 5 years, respectively.
Conclusion
The authors found no significant difference between the posterior
semicircular canal and lateral semicircular canal-BPPV regarding recurrence.
Recurrence mostly occurred within the first 3 years (93%) following successful
canalith repositioning procedure.