Volume 9, Issue 6: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo – just dizziness, right?

You watch the snow falling onto the bonnet of your 4×4 rapid response vehicle when you hear the unmissable sound of the MDT siren…. After battling through the snow, you arrive at a plush hotel where you are greeted by an anxious security guard who tells you “she’s in a bad way” and escorts you to the patient, 64-year-old Joan who has experienced an episode of dizziness “like the room was spinning” – how do you best assess and manage this patient?

CPD Benefit

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a disorder of the inner ear that can be characterised by repeated episodes of positional vertigo. BPPV is thought to be the most common cause of vertigo encountered in clinical practice.

This article discusses the best way to assess a patient who may have this condition including differential diagnoses to rule out time-critical or red flag symptoms and diagnose BPPV. It also gives guidance on how to carry out the Epley manoeuvre that should relieve the symptoms if a diagnosis of BPPV is positive.

Assessment Answers and References

You can check your answers to the quiz and download the references for this article by clicking the links below:

Standby CPD – Vol. 9 No. 6 – References

Standby CPD Volume 9 – Assessment Answers