Background: There is common agreement in the literature that it can result in an underestimation of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in the elderly.
Aims: The aim of this work was to analyze the role of anamnesis in the diagnosis of BPPV in patients of different ages through the development and validation of a scored questionnaire.
Methods: The questionnaire is based on the presence/absence of six typical anamnestic features of BPPV. The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMS) was also administered to patients over 65 years of age. Bedsides, examination for BPPV was then carried out, assigning the outcome of the questionnaire and eventual MMS to the final diagnosis for each patient.
Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire for high scores (>8) were found to be, respectively, 86 % and 80 % in all patients, 94 and 71 % in those under 65 years of age, 78 and 90 % in patients over 65, and, in particular, 63 and 83 % in those with MMS >24 and 100 and 100 % in those with MMS ≤24.
Discussion: The reliability and average score of the questionnaire were statistically significantly lower in the group of elderly patients without cognitive deficits. The lower reliability of the questionnaire in the geriatric population, rather than the presence of cognitive deterioration, seems to correlate with other comorbidities or simply to a lower mobility of the head triggering positional symptoms.
Conclusion: The use of the questionnaire could however reduce the risk of a missed diagnosis of BPPV given its good reliability across all ages.
Keywords: Anamnesis; Balance; Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; Dizziness; Elderly; Questionnaire.