• Vincent A van Vugt, Hà Tn Ngo, Johannes C van der Wouden, Jos Wr Twisk, Henriëtte E van der Horst, and Otto R Maarsingh.
• Department of General Practice, Amsterdam UMC location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam.
• Br J Gen Pract. 2023 Sep 1; 73 (734): e710e719e710-e719.

BackgroundVestibular rehabilitation (VR) is the preferred treatment for chronic vestibular symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo. An internet-based programme was developed to increase uptake of VR. The authors have previously reported that internet-based VR resulted in a clinically relevant decrease of vestibular symptoms for up to 6 months, compared with usual care.AimTo evaluate long-term outcomes of internet-based VR in patients with chronic vestibular syndrome.Design And SettingA randomised controlled trial was conducted in Dutch general practice involving 322 participants aged ≥50 years with chronic vestibular syndrome. Participants were randomised to stand-alone VR, blended VR (with physiotherapy support), and usual care. Usual care participants were allowed to cross over to stand-alone VR 6 months after randomisation.MethodParticipants were approached 36 months after randomisation. The primary outcome was the presence of vestibular symptoms as measured by the vertigo symptom scale-short form (VSS-SF). Secondary outcomes were dizziness-related impairment, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and healthcare utilisation.ResultsAt 36-month follow-up, 65% of participants filled in the VSS-SF. In the usual care group, 38% of participants had crossed over to VR at 6 months. There were no significant differences in vestibular symptoms between VR groups and usual care (mean difference = -0.8 points, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -2.8 to 1.2, for stand-alone VR; -0.3, 95% CI = -2.2 to 1.7, for blended VR). In VR groups, clinically relevant improvement compared with baseline was maintained over time.ConclusionInternet-based VR provides a maintained improvement of vestibular symptoms for up to 36 months in patients with chronic vestibular syndrome.© The Authors.

21 keywords...

hide…