Quality of life (QoL) is significantly impaired by vertigo. The effect of specific treatments on QoL deserves investigation. AIM: To assess the effect of repositioning maneuvers on the QoL of benign paroxysmal positioning vertigo (BPPV) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study design consiting of reviews of charts of BPPV patients in a vestibular rehabilitation unit at a teaching institution in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, from 2007 to 2008. Pre- and post-therapy (Epley's repositioning maneuver) scores on the physical, functional and emotional dimensions of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) were analyzed. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were included, eighteen (86%) were females; the average age was 53.2 years. Ten patients presented bilateral BPPV; in eleven it was unilateral. The mean interval between assessments (pre- and post-treatment) was 21 days. The average number of required maneuvers was 2.3 (±1.1). Pre-treatment DHI results showed a significant impact of BPPV on quality of life. Initial scores for physical (17.5), functional (17.3), emotional (13.2) dimensions decreased with therapy: respectively 3.7, 3.9, and 3.2 (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: In the present sample, Epley's maneuver had a positive and significant effect on emotional, physical and functional dimensions of quality of life, as measured by the DHI scores before and after therapy.
vestibular diseases; quality of life; rehabilitation; vertigo
