What diagnosis should we make for long-lasting vertiginous sensation after acute peripheral vertigo?

BACKGROUND

Differential diagnosis of persistent vertigo/dizziness in patients with a past history of vestibular neuritis (VN) and sudden deafness with vertigo (SDV) could sometimes be difficult for physicians due to variable vertiginous symptoms from rotatory to floating sensation.

OBJECTIVES

The main purpose of the present study was to examine the associations between the findings of otology/neurotology examinations in patients at the chronic stage after VN and SDV.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

We encountered 1789 successive vertigo/dizziness patients at the Vertigo/Dizziness Center in Nara Medical University between 2014 and 2018. Eighty-five patients were diagnosed as showing VN and 60 showed SDV according to the diagnostic guideline . The VN and SDV patients included 75 and 45 patients with chronic-stage of persistent vertigo/dizziness, of which 55 and 40 were enrolled into the present study.

RESULTS

Persistent vertigo/dizziness after VN was attributable to delayed vestibular compensation (dVC: 33/55; 60.0%), secondary benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (sBPPV: 20/55; 36.4%), and secondary endolymphatic hydrops (sEH: 2/55; 3.6%), while that after SDV was attributable to sBPPV (20/40; 50.0%), sEH (16/40; 40.0%), and dVC (4/40; 10.0%).

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: The present results could allow to simplify differential diagnosis of persistent vertigo/dizziness after VN and SDV such diseases as dVC, sBPPV, or sEH.