The Clinical Spectrum of Patients of Horizontal Semicircular Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Attending an Otoneurology Center in South Rajasthan, India and Their Response to Appropriate Repositioning Maneuvers at a Short-Term Follow-Up

Abstract Introduction This article aims to study the clinical spectrum of 20 consecutive patients diagnosed with horizontal semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HSC-BPPV) attending an otoneurology center in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, over a period of 11 months and their response to appropriate repositioning maneuvers evaluated at short-term follow-up of 1 hour and 24 hours. Study Design This is a nonrandomized prospective interventional study. Materials and Methods Twenty patients with unilateral HSC-BPPV were treated with a session of an appropriate repositioning maneuver (Gufoni maneuver or barbecue roll maneuver for the geotropic variant of HSC-BPPV [geo-HSC-BPPV]; Appiani maneuver or barbecue roll maneuver or head-shaking maneuver for the apogeotropic variant of the HSC-BPPV [apo-HSC-BPPV]). Patients were followed up twice (at 1 hour and 24 hours) and audited by a supine roll test with questioning for the absence or presence of concomitant vertigo. Results At the 1-hour follow-up, 78.57% (11/14) patients of geo-HSC-BPPV treated with Gufoni maneuver recovered, and 66.67% (4/6) patients of apo-HSC-BPPV treated with some form of physical therapy recovered. The recovery was maintained at 24 hours’ follow-up in both groups. Conclusion To the best of the author’s knowledge, no such study on patients of HSC-BPPV has been reported from India hitherto. Gufoni maneuver is an effective and safe treatment for the geo-HSC-BPPV with a recovery rate of 78.57% (11/14) at a short-term follow-up. The physical therapy for the apo-HSC-BPPV must be tailored according to the purported site of pathology which cannot be precisely predetermined most of the times.