The Clinical Response Time of Epley Maneuvers for Treatment of BPPV: A Hospital Based Study

The Epley maneuver is one of the most effective canalith repositioning procedures for treatment of posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. It was found that response to BPPV varies with various factors such as types, single versus multiple canals BPPV, single or repeated cycles of head maneuvers in each session and duration of follow up of patient. Furthermore, less uniform result exists after treatment of BPPV among studies. Hence, the present study was taken with aim to investigate "The clinical response time of Epley maneuvers in treatment of BPPV: A Hospital Based Study. A total of 132 patients were included in study with age ranging from 30 to 50 years These patient visited department of ENT from 2019 to 2020 with complaint of vertigo. The subjective balancing assessments along with Dix-Hallpike maneuver were done and dizziness handicap inventory were administrated for screening of BPPV. The patients, who were diagnosed as posterior canal BPPV, were treated with Canal repositioning procedure i.e. Epley's Maneuvers during the initial visit. In addition, the same maneuvers were repeated after 1 week of sequential sessions if the patient reported no benefit or partial benefit from first session until the patient became asymptomatic and Dix-Hallpike maneuver were negative. The total number of sessions of Epley maneuver required by each patient was recorded. The findings of present study suggested that 37.69% of cases with posterior canal BPPV were asymptomatic after first CRP session of Epleys maneuver whereas repeated sessions were required in 61.52% of cases of BPPV and 0.76% of cases showed no response to repeated CRP up to 6 months. BPPV involving posterior canals may be easily detected by position test with good response to Epley maneuver. Short-term and long term control of symptoms of unilateral posterior SCC through this easy and simple procedure can be achieved. This cost effective approach requires proper trained and committed professionals. The repeated session may be required as complete recovery may not be immediate. Sometimes partial response can be due to canal switching during BPPV Hence, it is necessary to counsel the patient regarding the importance of follow-up.