Is Vestibular Rehabilitation as Effective for Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness as for Chronic Unilateral Vestibular Hypofunction?

OBJECTIVE

To compare the feasibility and outcomes of vestibular rehabilitation (VR) for persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) with those for chronic unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH).

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

Tertiary referral center.

PATIENTS

Nineteen consecutive patients with chronic UVH lasting for >3 months and 15 with PPPD.

INTERVENTIONS

The VR program consisted of gaze stabilization exercises, static or dynamic balance exercises and gait training, and habituation exercises that exposed patients to a provocative stimulus. Patients were asked to perform VR for at least 20 min a day.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Status of VR (i.e., continuation/discontinuation) and outcomes were assessed 1 month after the introduction of VR using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory for handicaps in daily life due to dizziness, the Niigata PPPD Questionnaire (NPQ) for symptom exacerbations of PPPD, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for anxiety and depression.

RESULTS

No patients in the chronic UVH group discontinued VR, whereas six patients in the PPPD group discontinued VR owing to symptom exacerbations, showing a significant difference. VR did not decrease any symptom scale, except for the NPQ-motion subscore, in patients with PPPD who continued VR, whereas it decreased all clinical symptom scales, except for the NPQ-motion subscore, in patients with chronic UVH.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with PPPD had a higher rate of VR discontinuation than those with chronic UVH, and VR was less effective in patients with PPPD who even continued treatment than in those with chronic UVH. Therefore, VR on PPPD should be optimized.