[Posttraumatic benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: analysis of 23 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical presentation and outcome between patients with traumatic-BPPV (t-BPPV) and idiopathic-BBPV(i-BPPV).

METHOD: The clinical records of 186 patients with posterior canal BPPV were reviewed retrospectively. All patients were diagnosed using the Dix-Hallpike test and treated with the canalith repositioning procedure. The outcome of patients with t-BPPV was compared with patients with i-BPPV.

RESULT: Twenty-three of 186 patients with BPPV fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for t-BPPV. Women were affected i-BBPV more often than men (2.3:1), and women and men were equally affected t-BBPV (1:1). After one physical treatment, 34.8% of patients with t-BPPV had complete resolution of signs and symptoms in comparison to 85.3% of patients with i-BPPV (P < 0.05). During the 2-year follow-up, 56.5% of t-BPPV patients and 19.0% of i-BPPV patients had recurrent attacks (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: The nature and severity of the traumas causing t-BPPV are diverse. It appears that t-BPPV is more difficult to treat than i-BPPV, and also has a greater tendency to recur.