Abstract
Purpose
We undertook a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of administering intravenous
dexamethasone (DEX) for relieving the nausea and dizziness accompanying vestibular
neuritis (VN).
Methods
Between November 2013 and October 2014, 26 patients with VN were prospectively enrolled
in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to treatment with a combination
of 20 mg/d of intravenous metoclopramide, 100 mg of oral dimenhydrinate, and 5 mg/d
of intravenous DEX or 20 mg/d of intravenous metoclopramide, 100 mg of oral dimenhydrinate,
and intravenous normal saline as a placebo therapy. Patients’ subjective assessments
of the severity of their nausea and dizziness were recorded using a visual analog
scale on the day of admission and 2 days, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months thereafter.
Bedside examinations consisted of spontaneous nystagmus (SPN) assessment, the head
shaking nystagmus test, and the head impulse test, which were performed at every follow-up
visit.
Findings
The severity of nausea and dizziness was significantly reduced over time (both P < 0.05). However, there was no significant effect of DEX injection on the severity
of nausea or dizziness (P > 0.05). The presence of SPN was solely associated with nausea (hazard ratio = 3.34;
95% CI, 1.85–6.02).
Implications
The administration of intravenous DEX did not relieve nausea or dizziness any better
than a placebo treatment. However, further research is required to confirm whether
there is a dose-dependent effect of DEX on the control of nausea or dizziness in VN.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 13, 2015
Accepted:
August 25,
2015
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Elsevier HS Journals, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
