THE ANALYSES OF BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTİGO WİTH VIDEONYSTAGMOGRAPHY AMONG THE ELDERLY POPULATION

Design: A total of 52 BPPV patients aged, 60 to 92 (mean age 70.7± 8.57) between April 2013 and November 2016 were included in the study. Visual images during diagnostic maneuvers were recorded and analyzed by videonistagmography (VNG). The European Evaluation of vertigo scale (EEV) was administered before and after the treatment. The R Project for Statistical Computing was used for statistical analyses.

Results: 52 (9.4 %) elderly people over 132 total BPPV patients in Ozel Cevre Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey were included in the study. 63.5 % (33) of the BPPV were in posterior canals, 19.2 % (10) were in lateral canals, 17.3 % (9) were in anterior canals. 21.2% of the elderly population was secondary, 1.9 % was pluricanal (bilateral), 5.8% had canal changing patterns and 7.7% showed recurrence. The EEV value for all the patients before the therapeutic maneuvers was found to be 11.9 decreasing to 2.1 following the maneuvers. The result was meaningful with a p- value = 6.907 * 10^ (-38) (<.0.05) (paired sample T test)

Conclusion: The most popular canal was found to be the posterior canal among the elderly. With VNG, we can easily differentiate the positions of the debris in the exact canal and side. This gives accurate diagnosis and therapy with high success rate and a great comfort for the elderly people whose balance systems already degrade. Keywords : Balance, gait, exercise, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vertigo, geriatrics, old, elderly