International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology (Dec 2008)
Quality of life questionnaire application in patients before and after vestibular rehabilitation
Abstract
Introduction: Conventional vestibular tests are not efficient instruments to evaluate the level of commitment in the life quality of a patient with dizziness. The quality of life questionnaire specific for dizziness, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, was translated and validated into Portuguese intending to get over this difficulty in quantifying the vertiginous patient symptoms. Objective: This study aims at comparing the Brazilian Dizziness Handicap Inventory results before and after personalized vestibular rehabilitation in patients diagnosed with chronic vertigo from benign paroxist positional vertigo and chronic vertigo from other causes. Method: Retrospective study of 30 medical records; all of which were submitted to the Brazilian Dizziness Handicap Inventory before and after the personalized vestibular rehabilitation treatment. Results: In the total scores average of vestibular pre-rehabilitation, the benign paroxist positional vertigo had a score of 47.93±24.46 and the chronic vertigo for other causes of 54.40±20.97. At discharge, the benign paroxist positional vertigo scores average was of 6.13±7.22 and in the chronic vertigo from other causes, the scores average was of 26.13±20.51. Conclusion: The commitment of the life quality of individuals with dizziness, both for chronic vertigo from other causes and benign paroxist positional vertigo, was very similar, confirming an important commitment. The vestibular rehabilitation effect for both cases was also efficient and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory was an efficient instrument to evaluate the vertiginous case evolution.
