Home-based Vestibular Rehabilitation: A Feasible and Effective Therapy for Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (A Pilot Study).

INTRODUCTION

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic functional vestibular disorder where there is persistent dizziness or unsteadiness occurring on most days for more than 3 months duration. Treatment recommendations for PPPD include vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) with or without medications and/or cognitive behavioral therapy.

OBJECTIVES

This paper is a pilot study designed to compare the effects of Bal Ex as a home-based VRT on the quality of life (EQ-5D), dizziness handicap (DHI) and mental health (DASS-21) against hospital-based VRT.

DESIGN

This was an assessor-blinded, randomized controlled pilot study where PPPD patients were randomly selected to undergo Bal Ex, the home-based VRT (intervention group) or hospital-based (control group) VRT. The participants were reviewed at 4 weeks and 12 weeks after the start of therapy to assess the primary endpoints using the subjective improvement in symptoms as reported by patients, changes in DHI scores, DASS-21 scores and EQ5D VAS scores.

RESULTS

Thirty PPPD patients successfully completed the study with 15 in each study group. Within 4 weeks, there were significant improvements in the total DHI scores as well as anxiety levels. By the end of 12 weeks, there were significant improvements in the DHI, DASS-21 and EQ5D. The degree of improvement between Bal Ex and the control was comparable.

CONCLUSION

VRT is an effective modality in significantly improving quality of life, dizziness handicap, depression, and anxiety levels within 3 months in PPPD. Preliminary results show Bal Ex is as effective as hospital-based VRT and should be considered as a treatment option for PPPD.