Oral Piracetam vs Betahistine in Outpatient Management of Peripheral Vertigo; a Randomized Clinical Trial

INTRODUCTION: Although vertigo is a common complaint in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED), its ideal treatment is still under debate. This study was conducted to compare oral betahistine and oral piracetam in management of outpatients with peripheral vertigo. METHODS: This was a randomized clinical trial performed on patients who were presented to the EDs of 4 teaching hospitals, with complaint of true vertigo. Patients were randomly allocated to either betahistine or piracetam group and their 7-day outcomes were compared. RESULTS: 100 cases with the mean age of 54.72 ± 14.09 years were randomly allocated to either group (62.0% female). The two groups were similar regarding age, sex, and intensity of symptom at the time of presenting to the ED. Twelve (24%) patients in piracetam group and 6 (12%) patients in betahistine group experienced adverse events (odds ratio: 2.32, CI 95%: 0.79-6.76; p = 0.125). There were 3 (6%) patients in each group that experienced a recurrence of their symptoms and 2 (4%) patients in each group saw another physician for vertigo. CONCLUSION: Oral piracetam is a potentially proper treatment for management of peripheral vertigo and there are few adverse effects associated with it.