Minimal Stimulus Strategy in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: Its Application in a Resource Limited Setting

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause for vertigo. It is diagnosed by the characteristic nystagmus induced by provocative positional tests. During these positional tests the patient experiences spinning vertigo and neurovegetative symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This can cause severe discomfort to the patient during treatment and in some cases reduced compliance. Minimal stimulation strategy reduced the episodes of induced vertigo, nausea and vomiting thereby making the treatment maneuvers more tolerable. This study aims to evaluate the utility of minimum stimulus strategy for managing BPPV in a resource limited center. The present study also evaluated the utility of 3rd step vertigo as an alternative marker for recovery nystagmus in predicting the efficacy of Epley's maneuver in treating posterior canal BPPV. All patients diagnosed with canalolithiasis of posterior semicircular canal (pc-BPPV), horizontal semicircular canal (hc-BPPV), anterior semicircular canal (ac-BPPV) and multiple semicircular canal (mc-BPPV) were included in the study. The side on which the maximum symptoms were experienced was asked to the patients and noted. The first positional test done in all patients was the Dix-Hallpike maneuver and minimum stimulation strategy was used for treating BPPV. Appropriate canalolith repositioning maneuvers (CRM) were used to treat BPPV. Positional maneuvers were repeated after the CRM in the same sitting and the treatment was considered successful if nystagmus had disappeared on repeat positional tests. The presence of 3rd step vertigo during Epley's maneuver was documented. A total of 71 patients were enrolled in the study. Patients correctly identified the side of BPPV in 76.31% of cases. 3rd step vertigo was able to predict a successful Epley's maneuver in pc-BPPV with a sensitivity and specificity of 41.67% and 60% respectively. Incidence of 3rd step vertigo was seen in 41.37% of patients with pc-BPPV and in 90.9% of patients with mc-BPPV. Minimal stimulation strategy is useful in reducing the discomfort experienced by the patients with BPPV during treatment and thereby improve the compliance to treatment maneuvers. Patients were able to identify the correct side of BPPV in 76.31% of cases. Third step vertigo could predict successful Epley's reposition maneuver with a sensitivity of 41.67% and specificity of 60% in our cohort. However, more studies with larger sample size are required to ascertain its role as an alternative marker for 'recovery nystagmus'.