The Epley maneuver showed persistent resolution rates of positional vertigo and nystagmus without a fatigue phenomenon. Similar results were seen for the resolution of positional vertigo. At 1 day and 1 week after treatment, the resolution rate of the Epley group was significantly higher than those of the other groups. After the second maneuver, the resolution rate (83.3%) of the Epley group was significantly higher than that (51.6%) of the sham group. After the first maneuver, the Epley group showed a significantly higher resolution rate of positional nystagmus than the Semont or sham groups (63.9, 37.5, and 38.7%, respectively). Each maneuver was repeated twice if there was still positional vertigo or nystagmus on day 0, and the presence of nystagmus and vertigo on positional testing were evaluated immediately, 1 day, and 1 week after treatment. Out of 14 institutes which participated in this study, 5 institutes had previous experience of the Epley but not the Semont maneuver and the other 9 had previous experience of both maneuvers. Subjects were randomly divided into three groups: Epley (36 patients), Semont (32 patients), and sham (Epley maneuver for the unaffected side, 31 patients).

We evaluated the short-term efficacy of Epley, Semont, and sham maneuvers for resolving posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in a prospective multicenter randomized double-blind controlled study.

Epley and semont maneuvers for vertigo