Comparative Study of Clinical Features of Patients with Different Types of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Objectives: Even though BPPV is one of the most common causes of vertigo, it is often underdiagnosed and omitted in the diagnosis of patients reporting vertigo. The aim of the study was to establish a diagnostic pattern useful in patients admitted due to vertigo, based on the most common clinical characteristics of patients suffered from posterior canal BPPV (PC-BPPV), horizontal canal BPPV with geotropic (HCG-BPPV) and apogeotropic nystagmus (HCA-BPPV). Methods: The analysis covered the results obtained in 105 patients with a positive result of the Dix-Hallpike maneuver or the supine roll test. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on the BPPV type: gr.1:PC-BPPV (60%); gr.2: HCG-BPPV (27%); gr.3: HCA-BPPV (13%). Patients before the diagnostic maneuvers filled the questionnaire concerning their symptoms and previous diseases. Results: Almost all patients had vertigo during turning over in bed and the character of the symptoms was paroxysmal. The answers to questions about the type of head movement evoked vertigo and how long vertigo lasted were differentiating. The percentages of correct diagnosis speculated by the combined answers were 69.6% in PC-BPPV, 61.8% in HCG-BPPV, and 80% in HCA-BPPV. Conclusions: Basing on those observations there is presented the diagnostic schedule which could be useful in dizziness examination. The above results indicate that a properly collected interview with the patient allows for a high percentage of accurate diagnosis.