Effect of smoking on the treatment of vertigo.

OBJECTIVE

To study the effect of smoking on patients with vertigo.

SETTING

University hospital.

PATIENTS: Thirty patients with vertigo who smoke and 30 patients with vertigo who don't smoke were age-, sex-, and diagnosis-matched and given the same medication consecutively for 3 months. Then treatment efficacy was compared between two groups to investigate the relationship between smoking and vertigo.

RESULTS

The efficacy of treatment of vertigo in the smoking group (30%) was lower than the nonsmoking group (74%). Intractable vertigo is related to smoking behavior but unrelated to either smoking year or tobacco year (exposure to smoking).

CONCLUSIONS

For patients with vertigo who smoke during the course of treatment, the treatment may be ineffective. Therefore, neurotologists should inquire about the smoking history in vertigo patients and advise them to abstain from smoking.