BPPV: State of the Art in Diagnosis And Treatment

Dr. Epley said of the device, We’ve been able to cure almost 100% of BPPV patients using the Omniax. I haven’t seen the need to do surgery in probably five years.

The Omniax is marketed by Vesticon and is already being tested at six sites in the United States and one site in Australia.5

Dr. Epley concluded that probably the most important thing that otolaryngologists can do is hone their ability to recognize and interpret nystagmus. He suggested that physicians who regularly see patients with BPPV might benefit from taking a course on diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

He stated, The nystagmus characteristics tell you quite a bit about what’s going on in the inner ear, and we’re learning more and more how to interpret that information and put it to good use.

References

1. Li JC, Epley J. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. eMedicine. Available at www.emedicine.com/ENT/topic761.htm . Accessed July 5, 2007.
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2. University of Maryland Medical Center. Benign paroxysmal position vertigo (BPPV). Available at www.umm.edu/otolaryngology/bppv.html . Accessed July 19, 2007.
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3. Li JC. Mastoid oscillation: a critical factor for success in canalith repositioning procedure. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1995;113:712-20.
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4. Parnes LS, Agrawal SK, Atlas J. Diagnosis and management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). CMAJ 2003;169:681-93.
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5. Vesticon Web site: www.vesticon.com . Accessed July 10, 2007.
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