Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Mnemonic

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Here is a quick mnemonic “POSITIONAL VERTIGO“ to remember about Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

This can be valuable for patients as well as medical doctors, nurses & students doing their clinical rounds. You can also find it very useful for med exams like USMLE, NEET PG, FMGE, NExT & NCLEX exams

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo : How To Remember Easily ?

  • P – Provoked by changes in head position relative to gravity
  • O – Otoconia (calcium carbonate crystals) dislodged from utricular macula
  • S – Semicircular canals affected (posterior canal most commonly)
  • I – Inner ear crystals move within the canal
  • T – Torsional nystagmus (upward beating of the eyes)
  • I – Involvement of horizontal canal leads to horizontal nystagmus
  • O – Orthostatic hypotension can be distinguished from BPPV
  • N – Nystagmus and vertigo occur with head position changes
  • A – Anterior canal involvement is rare
  • L – Lying down, rising from a supine position, and extending the head to look upward provoke episodes
  • V – Vertigo episodes are brief (<1 min)
  • E – Epley maneuver is commonly used for posterior canal BPPV
  • R – Repositioning maneuvers use gravity to remove otoconia from the canal
  • T – Triggered by rolling over in bed
  • I – Instruct patients in a variant of the Epley maneuver for home use
  • G – Gravity causes movement of otoconia within the canal
  • O – Otoconia enter the semicircular canal

Mnemonic : POSITIONAL VERTIGO

Dr. Arin Nandi

Passionate About Medical Science & Helping Future Doctors Achieve Top Ranks In Medical Exams. He is professionally a dentist as well as a public health expert from JIPMER (1), (2)working in health department
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