[Comparative study in acute unilateral vestibular disorders].

The results of follow-up examinations on 52 patients suffering from acute unilateral vestibular paralysis are compared with the data of 295 patients with the same illness, compiled from 10 publications, and the successes of the treatment methods are compared. Function was restored, independent of the age of the patient, intensity of the symptoms at the onset of the illness and the extent of the functional damage. Concomitant diseases and so-called high-risk factors had no influence on the prognosis. The infusion-therapy carried out with rheologic or vasoactive drugs showed no better result than outpatient treatment. Neither could oral long-term treatment lasting longer than one year be established as being more efficient. The good prognostic expectations referring to an improvement of the symptoms could be explained by the combination of a peripheral recovery of the weak labyrinth and the process of central compensation. As long as the effectiveness of a risky infusion treatment has yet not been proven, and no reliable knowledge of the origin of this disease has been established, routine use of parenteral therapy must be considered with critical reservation.