Comparison of outcomes of the Epley and Semont maneuvers in posterior canal BPPV: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to compare the efficacy of the Epley and Semont maneuvers in relieving posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) arising in the in patients at the Outpatient Department of the Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand. METHOD: In this prospective, randomized, comparative study, patients were assigned to receive one of the two treatment methods. First, BPPV was diagnosed with the Dix‐Hallpike test. Then, each patient was treated by either the Epley or Semont maneuver. Immediately afterward, the efficacy of treatments was evaluated with the Dix‐Hallpike test, and dizziness intensity was assessed with the visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: This study enrolled 80 patients with posterior canal BPPV, 40 of which underwent the Epley maneuver and the other 40 underwent the Semont maneuver. In the first week, The Epley maneuver cured 37 (92.5%) of the 40 patients, and the Semont maneuver cured 36 (90%) of the 40 patients. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in the efficacy of these treatments (P = .251). Regarding dizziness intensity, VAS scores decreased from 6.48 to 1.65 after the Epley maneuver and from 6.53 to 2.18 after the Semont maneuver. Statistical analysis revealed that the Epley maneuver was superior to the Semont maneuver (P = .009) in reducing dizziness intensity. CONCLUSIONS: The Epley and Semont maneuvers had similar efficacy in curing posterior canal BPPV. Regarding the severity of dizziness after treatment, the Epley maneuver produced significantly better results than did the Semont maneuver. Level of Evidence: II