Clinical effect of canal plugging on positional vertigo

Abstract

Positional vertigo of peripheral origin usually resolves by itself or by conservative treatments. However, some cases resist conventional treatments and show disabling vertigo. The case presented herein is a 57-year-old woman who developed positional vertigo following head injury. She showed direction-changing vertical-rotatory nystagmus upon positional nystagmus test. Drug therapy and physical maneuver failed to control her symptoms and nystagmus. Canal plugging procedure to the right posterior semicircular canal successfully eliminated the vertigo and the nystagmus. The hearing remained unchanged. Close analysis of nystagmus is necessary for the precise diagnosis of the affected organ and selection of the appropriate treatment.