Immediate Hypoglossal-Facial Anastomosis in Patients With Facial Interruption.

Hypoglossal-facial anastomosis provides excellent motor supply to the mimetic muscles of the face when there is no chance of recovery of the damaged facial nerve. However, to achieve optimal results, the timing of facial nerve surgery based on electrophysiological testing and clinical evaluation requires close follow-up of the patient. Functional results after delayed surgery are not predictable and depend on the number of surviving fibers, type of injury, severity of damage, degree of infiltration of inflammatory cells, and local fibrosis. Facial hypertonia, synkinesis, and involuntary mass movement are the major problems of delayed reanimation of the facial nerve. Surgery in the vicinity of the facial nerve always aims to preserve neural integrity. However, immediate facial nerve grafting is sometimes required. We present our experience with 4 patients having normal facial function prior to surgery. The facial nerve was severed due to tumor infiltration and instantaneously reconstructed with the hypoglossal nerve. Two patients had House-Brackmann grade-II 10 days and 28 months after surgery, respectively, and another 2 patients had House-Brackmann grade-III facial paralysis 2 weeks and 6 months after surgery, respectively.

Clinical aspects of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo associated with migraine.

INTRODUCTION: Whether clinical features in patients with BPPV and migraine differ from patients with BPPV without migraine is unknown. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to compare clinical aspects of patients with or without migraine. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 263 patients with BPPV were enrolled. Patients were investigated in terms of age, gender, symptoms, affected side, type of BPPV and the cure rate. Data were compared in patients with and without migraine. Mean values and standard deviations (± SD) were calculated. One way ANOVA test was used for the analysis. Significance was set at p < 0.005. RESULTS: 32 patients had migraine (11.4%). Gender ratio difference between groups was significant (4.2 vs. 1.3). Comparative analysis of average age between groups was not significant (p = 0.069; 38.50 ± 11.52, 43.38 ± 13.83). Majority of patients had symptoms less than 2 months and the difference was not significant (78.1% vs. 76%). Comparative analysis of cure rate of the therapeutic maneuvers between 2 groups was not significant (77% vs. 84%). CONCLUSION: Patients with BPPV may have associated migraine. However, this study does not indicate that the presence of migraine is a risk factor for BPPV for the cure since the therapeutic outcome is similar.

An analysis of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) selectively test the vestibular end-organ. The aim of this study was to analyze how the site of the diseased canal, type of particulate deposition, duration of symptoms, severity of nystagmus, recurrence, and age affect the VEMP in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). METHODS: One hundred two patients were enrolled in the study between 2009 and 2012. There were 36 men and 66 women with ages ranging from 16 to 71 years (mean age, 42.28 ± 11.29 years). Patients with BPPV were tested with roll-on and head-hanging maneuvers under video-electronystagmography monitoring and with air conduction cervical VEMP testing. Patients were grouped for duration, severity, recurrence, age, site of canal involvement, and so on, and the results were compared in each subgroup. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for the comparative analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (23.5%) had a gross VEMP abnormality (absence of VEMP in 6 and greater than 25% depression of the amplitude in 18). Abnormality of VEMPs was not correlated with factors including age, severity of nystagmus, number of maneuvers applied, and the site of canal involvement (P < .05). However, persistence or recurrence of symptoms has an effect on VEMP results (P = .016). CONCLUSION: Vestibular evoked myogenic potential is a useful tool to study the otolithic function in patients with BPPV and should be included in the test battery.

[Primary intraoseous hemangioma of temporal bone]. / Temporal kemigin primer intraosseöz hemanjiyomu.

Intraosseous hemangiomas of the temporal bone are extremely rare lesions. Differential diagnosis of these lesions which have unique pathogenesis prevents unnecessary and risky interventions. In this article, we report a 43-year-old male case with temporal bone hemangioma who was operated for symptoms of expanding and bleeding mass in the external ear canal.

Bilateral simultaneous presentation of posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: To outline the clinical picture of bilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. METHODS: A total of 573 patients with posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo were classified as having unilateral, or true or pseudo bilateral, posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and were treated with the Epley manoeuvre. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Of the patients, 483 had unilateral and 90 (15.7 per cent) had bilateral presentation. Of the latter, 72 patients had pseudo bilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Comparisons of site of involvement, male to female ratio and the incidence of associated problems in unilateral, and true and pseudo bilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo did not reveal any statistically significant differences (p = 0.828, p = 0.200, p = 0.142). Comparisons of the number of manoeuvres required to provide symptom relief and the rate of recurrence were significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Identification of true and pseudo bilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is important given the differences in aetiology and treatment outcome. Treatment of patients with true bilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo requires several therapeutic manoeuvre attempts, and patients should be warned about recurrence.

Auriculotemporal Carcinoma - A Retrospective Case Series.

Rationale: Eleven cases with auriculotemporal cancer were reviewed for prognostic analysis. Patient Concerns: Follow-up ranged from 1.2 to 12 years (median 5.01 years). Diagnosis Treatment and Outcome: Three patients with parotid gland carcinoma, out of those, two had chemoradiotherapy, died in the first 2 years of treatment. They were at stage T4 and tumour progressed with distant metastasis. Otorrhoea was the most common symptom in patients with primary temporal bone carcinoma. One patient with auricular carcinoma had a recurrence at the primary site 13 months after surgery. One patient with T1, two patients with T2 and one patient with T3 have completed a 5-year survival period. One patient with T1 and another one with T2 are still at a 2-year follow-up period with no recurrence. Take-Away Lessons: Complete resection is the treatment of choice. Post-operative radiotherapy is highly recommended. The most decisive prognostic indicator is the advanced stage. Early diagnosis has great importance.

Analysis of persistent geotropic and apogeotropic positional nystagmus of the lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Objective: This study aims to analyze the clinical characteristics of persistent geotropic and apogeotropic positional nystagmus of LC-BPPV in view of light and heavy cupula discussion. Material and method: The study group includes 184 patients with LC BPPV (98 apogeotropic, 86 geotropic type) who have been examined between 2009 and 2020. Ninety-nine females and 85 males, aged between 16 and 92 years were included (Ageotropic 49.32 ± 14.12, geotropic 44.49 ± 13.90 years). Average slow phase velocity (SPV) of positional nystagmus was documented and those with persistent direction-changing positional nystagmus lasting more than a minute were grouped separately. Age, gender difference, side of involvement, and recurrence pattern were particularly reviewed. Chi-square and One way ANOVA tests were used to compare the difference between groups. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: Thirty-seven patients with apogeotropic nystagmus (30.7%; 37/98) and 18 patients with geotropic nystagmus (20.9%; 18/86) had persistent nystagmus (p ˂0.05). Comparison of slow phase velocity (SPV) of persistent and non-persistent geotropic and apogeotropic positional nystagmus of the affected side was significant (p ˂0.05). Comparison of average age, male to female ratio, side of involvement, and the recurrence rate in patients with persistent and non-persistent geotropic and apogeotropic type positional nystagmus groups were not significant (p = 0.177, p = 0.521, p = 0.891, p = 0.702). Conclusion: Persistent geotropic and apogeotropic positional nystagmus is mostly correlated with the size, amount, and position of otoconial debris. It is difficult to justify the light cupula as a new geotropic variant of cupular pathology. Patients with persistent positional nystagmus present similar therapeutic outcomes and recurrence rates.

Pseudo-spontaneous nystagmus in patients with lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

BACKGROUND: Pseudo-spontaneous nystagmus (PSN) can be detected in patients with lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (LC-BPPV). Its frequency, and correlation with the therapeutic outcome have been less described and conflicting results have been reported. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate its clinical and prognostic significance. MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred and eighty-four patients with LC BPPV (98 apogeotropic, 86 geotropic type) were enrolled for the study. Clinical parameters were reviewed in patients with or without PSN. The Chi-square and one way ANOVA tests were used to compare the difference between study groups. Statistical significance was set at p < .05. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients with apogeotropic (22.4%; 98/22) and 17 patients with geotropic nystagmus (19.7%; 86/17) had PSN. The incidence, age, male-female ratio, mean slow phase velocity (SPV), duration of BPPV and the rate of recurrence were not significant in patients with LC-BPPV whether they have PSN or not. CONCLUSION: Prognostic role of PSN in patients with LC BPPV seems to be questionable. SIGNIFICANCE: Appearance and disappearance of PSN with regard to head position helps to differentiate BPPV from other acute vestibular disorders. Additionally, direction of nystagmus assists to determine the site of the affected canal. However, prognostic significance is obscure.

Middle ear ventilation function in patients with myringoplasty alone and myringoplasty plus mastoidectomy.

OBJECTIVES: In this study we investigated the correlation between middle ear pressure changes in patients with myringoplasty alone and together with intact canal wall mastoidectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The tympanometric values of 102 patients with myringoplasty alone and 78 patients with myringoplasty plus intact canal wall mastoidectomy were examined by tympanometric analysis in this retro-prospective study. The study population consisted of 130 male and 50 female patients (mean age 25.3±7.7). All patients underwent myringoplasty with or without mastoidectomy due to chronic otitis without cholesteatoma. Patients with a value of less than -100 daPa during the postoperative follow-up were considered having normal middle ear ventilation. Independent-samples t-test was used for comparison of the analyses results of groups. RESULTS: Sixty patients with myringoplasty (58.8%) and 55 patients with intact canal wall mastoidectomy (70.5%) had middle ear pressures less than -100 daPa at three months after surgery. The percentage of recovery over the first three years was 70.5% and 76.9% in the myringoplasty and intact canal wall mastoidectomy groups, respectively. The rate of persistent negative pressure is 21.6% and 14.1% in the myringoplasty and intact canal wall mastoidectomy groups, respectively. The number of patients who had negative middle ear pressure in myringoplasty group was higher than the number of those in intact canal wall mastoidectomy group at all intervals. However, when the rate of normalization over time was compared between two groups, no significant difference was found (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: In first three months, the significantly higher number of patients achieving normal middle ear ventilation in mastoidectomy group compared to the patients without mastoidectomy is a finding which supports the additional effect of mastoidectomy on the pressure normalization function. However, the rate of normalization over time is not different between two groups. Middle ear pressure normalization is a continuous dynamic process and improvements may be seen for up to one year.

Spontaneous Direction-Changing or Reversing Positional Nystagmus without Changing Head Position during Head-Roll/Head-Hanging Maneuvers: Biphasic Positional Nystagmus.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Conflicting mechanisms have been reported about spontaneous reversal of positional nystagmus during head-roll maneuver in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). The objective of this study is to review the reports about the characteristics and possible mechanisms of reversing positional nystagmus and to present seven new cases. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Seven cases (5 males, 2 females; 4 left-sided, 3 right-sided) were recruited among 732 patients with BPPV seen outpatient clinic between 2009 and 2019. Diagnosis of lateral canal canalolithiasis was confirmed when transient geotropic nystagmus was documented during head-roll test. Reversing positional nystagmus was analyzed in each case and clinical characteristics of the patients were documented. RESULTS: The age of patients was ranging between 30 to 64 years (46.44±10.91). Duration of symptoms was short (21.34±19.74). Six of them had a story of head trauma. Initial latency was short. First, intense geotropic nystagmus was observed following provocative head-roll position on the affected side. There was short "silent phase". Then, a longer second-phase of reversed nystagmus was noted. Total duration of nystagmus was 78.40±6.82 seconds. Maximal slow phase velocity was 24.05±6.34 deg/sec. All patients were cured with barbeque maneuver. CONCLUSIONS: Ipsilateral reversing positional nystagmus during head-roll maneuver is due to lateral canal canalolithiasis. Mechanism is likely to be due to endolymphatic double flow. Bilateral cases may be due to simultaneous co-existence of canalolithiasis and cupulolithiasis. Longer recording of nystagmus is recommended not to miss the cases with spontaneous direction-changing positional nystagmus.

Active Head Auto-Rotations in Patients With Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

BACKGROUND: Utricular degeneration is the source of traveling otoconia inside the semicircular canals in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). The underlying pathology is not clear. The aim of this study was to analyze vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) during sudden head accelerations in those patients since clinical reports designating an association of BPPV with inner ear problems are increasing. METHODS: VOR reaction to impulsive head rotations were tested in 34 patients with BPPV (13 lateral, 21 posterior canal BPPV) and 15 healthy subjects in a prospective controlled study. Main outcome measure was the gain (the ratio of head and eye velocity) of vertical and horizontal head auto-rotations to the pathologic and normal sides. RESULTS: All patients with BPPV and control subjects had normal gain (≥ 0.9) at 1 and 2 Hz but the gain decreased at higher frequencies. No statistically significant difference was found when comparing the gain between the horizontal head rotations toward the pathologic and those toward the normal side (P = 0.89, P = 0.90, P = 0.78, P = 0.20 and P = 0.16, at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Hz, respectively) and between upward and downward vertical head rotations (P = 0.28, P = 0.53 and P = 0.15, at 1, 2 and 3 Hz, respectively) in patients with lateral and posterior canal BPPV. CONCLUSION: VOR gain was reduced in some patients. However, head auto-rotation test (HART) does not show any functional abnormality of VOR during head rotations toward the pathologic side. HART is not suitable as a screening test for BPPV.

Direction-fixed positional nystagmus following head-roll testing: how is it related with a vestibular pathology?

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to analyze the clinical view of patients with direction-fixed positional nystagmus (DFPN) following head-roll maneuver. METHODS: Sixty patients with DFPN were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were categorized into 3 groups according to the direction of nystagmus based on rotation side. Associated problems were documented, and cumulative data were compared between groups. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA test) was used for statistical analysis (P < 0.05). RESULTS: Thirty-three patients (55%) had stronger nystagmus beating towards the direction of head-roll (Group-A). Three patients developed geotropic LC-BPPV. Fourteen patients had inner ear disease. Sixteen patients (27%) had stronger nystagmus beating against the direction of head roll (Group-B). Nine patients had inner ear disease. None of the patients tested with head-shaking had change of direction of nystagmus. Eleven patients (18%) had DFPN with equal velocity during right or left head-roll maneuver (Group-C). Of those, nine patients had inner ear disease. None of the patients had change of direction of nystagmus. Comparison of the incidence of associated problems (migraine, vestibular neuronitis, Meniere's disease etc.) in each group was not statistically significant (P˃0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with DFPN should be followed for a possibility of vestibular pathology since vestibular problem was documented for more than half of the patients in the follow-up. On the other hand, DFPN could be related with a temporary reason (thermal, physical or drug effect etc.) in some patients who do not exhibit any associated disease. Head-shaking testing is recommended to expose the lateral canal BPPV. But the incidence is low.

A Review of the Quality of Life after Therapeutic Maneuvers in Patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

INTRODUCTION: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a common cause of peripheral vestibular disturbances. Particle repositioning or liberatory maneuvers provide relief of symptoms in the majority of patients. However, studies mainly focus on success. This study aims to review the conditions that may have an impact on residual dizziness or recurrence following therapeutic maneuvers in patients with BPPV. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the literature about the analysis of quality of life after therapeutic maneuvers was conducted. Three hundred and seven articles after search in the PubMed database were classified into eight main groups after exclusion of those that are not suitable to predetermined criteria. RESULTS: Thirty-eight articles for residual dizziness in BPPV, eighty-three articles for the duration of BPPV, forty articles for the type of canal involvement, forty-three articles for the impact of age, one hundred and nine articles for the gender difference, forty-seven articles for co-morbid conditions, one hundred and twenty-four articles for medication and sixty-eight articles for vestibular exercises in BPPV were selected. CONCLUSION: VEMP abnormality is a reliable indicator to demonstrate the risk of recurrence. Duration of dizziness has no significant impact on recurrence. But the length of duration is important for residual dizziness. Vestibular rehabilitation or medication alone has no place in treatment but may help to reduce the symptoms in addition to maneuver. Self-perceived evaluation of balance after therapeutic maneuvers is recommended for the selection of those who need rehabilitation or additional medication.

Review of the pathology underlying benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

The pathophysiological mechanism underlying benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is related to free-floating debris/otoliths in the semicircular canal (canalolithiasis) or debris/otoliths attached to the cupula (cupulolithiasis). These debris/otoliths are considered to originally accumulate after detachment from the neuroepithelium of the utricular macula secondary to a type of degeneration. An idiopathic form, which is assumed to occur spontaneously, is diagnosed when the causative pathology is obscure. However, an association between various other systemic or inner ear conditions and BPPV has been reported, indicating the existence of secondary BPPV. This study was performed to present the first review of the pathology underlying BPPV following a complete PubMed/Medline search. In total, 1932 articles published from 1975 to 2018 were reviewed. The articles were classified according to 17 potentially causative factors (aging; migraine; Meniere's disease; infection; trauma; idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss; sleeping habits; osteoporosis and vitamin D insufficiency; hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus; chronic head and neck pain; vestibule or semicircular canal pathology; pigmentation disorders; estrogen deficiency; neurological disorders; autoimmune, inflammatory, or rheumatologic disorders; familial or genetic predisposition; and allergy). A discussion of the underlying cause of BPPV for each factor is presented.

Video head impulse testing in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

BACKGROUND: Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) function is expected to be normal in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) during sudden head rotations. AIM: The aim of this study is to analyze VOR by video head impulse test (vHIT) in patients with BPPV in order to determine the potential value of clinical application of vHIT in BPPV. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Sixty patients with BPPV were included for the study from out-patient admissions. The main outcome measures were the gain of VOR, gain asymmetry, and refixation saccades. Fifteen healthy subjects with no history of dizziness were selected as normal control. RESULTS: Mean VOR gain during lateral head impulse in patients with geotropic type LC BPPV was 0.85 ± 0.22. Mean VOR gain during lateral head impulse in patients with ageotropic type LC BPPV was 0.78 ± 0.16. Fourteen patients with PC BPPV (35%; 40/13) had low gain during ipsilesional head impulses. Seven patients had low gain during counterlesional head impulses. Mean VOR gain during vertical head impulse in patients with PC BPPV was 0.73 ± 0.24. Nine patients with posterior canal BPPV (25%; 9/40) and 2 patients with LC BPPV (11%; 2/18) had corrective saccades. None of the results showed significant difference in comparison to control group. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: VHIT analysis demonstrated that VOR function was normal on the BPPV side.

Double challenge: cochlear implantation in the only hearing ear with progressive hearing loss following meningitis and vestibular dysfunction after implantation.

OBJECTIVE: Vestibular dysfunction associated with cochlear implantation is rare. It is usually seen in patients with otosclerosis due to spread of electrical activity throughout the demineralized bone. A 17-year old female with progressive hearing loss 2 years after meningitis and vestibular dysfunction in the implanted ear is presented in this study. FINDINGS: The patient had mild hearing loss in the right ear and total hearing loss on the left side because of complete ossification of the cochlea following meningitis. She had to have cochlear implantation in the right ear because of progression of hearing loss. She had successful implantation but she experienced vestibular dysfunction following activation of cochlear electrodes. Closure of two electrodes caused disruption of auditory programming. Then the patient was subjected to long term vestibular rehabilitation program. CONCLUSION: Timing for implantation before the completion of cochlear ossification is crucial not to miss the chance for hearing restoration. However, difficulties in hearing rehabilitation due to extensive ossification can be doubled by vestibular problems triggered by stimulation of the vestibular nerve by cochlear electrodes. Attempts to reduce the balance problem will complicate auditory programming. Vestibular rehabilitation for long term helps to carry on hearing progress.

Temporalis fascia and cartilage-perichondrium composite shield grafts for reconstruction of the tympanic membrane.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to compare the long-term functional results of tympanic membrane reconstruction with temporalis fascia and cartilage shield grafting. METHODS: This study includes 113 patients who had tympanoplasty type I tympanic membrane reconstruction between 1997 and 2007, 47 with tragal cartilage and 66 with temporalis fascia. Fourteen patients in the cartilage group and 9 patients in the temporalis fascia group also had mastoidectomy. The average follow-up was 3.2 years. The hearing threshold was calculated as the mean value of the thresholds for 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 Hz. A paired-samples t-test was used for comparison of the preoperative and postoperative air and bone conduction hearing thresholds and air-bone gaps. RESULTS: Significant recovery was found in the postoperative air conduction threshold and air-bone gap in both the temporalis fascia and cartilage groups as compared to those before surgery (p < 0.001). However, the average air and bone conduction thresholds and air-bone gap were found to be statistically different after surgery in the cartilage group as compared to those in the temporalis fascia group. There was no significant difference in hearing parameters before and after surgery in patients with or without mastoidectomy in either the cartilage group or the temporalis fascia group. CONCLUSIONS: The hearing gain in patients with cartilage shield grafting was better than that in those who had temporalis fascia tympanoplasty, although experimental analysis shows loss of acoustic energy for thick and large shield cartilage grafts.

Evaluation of cochlear implant users' performance using middle and late latency responses.

Aim of the study was to investigate whether postoperative middle and late latency responses (MLR and LLR) give some clues of postoperative performance of cochlear implant (CI) users. The study was performed in ten prelingual and six postlingual-CI patients with the age ranging from 6 to 48 years (mean 19.7 +/- 15.7 years). The following criteria were sought for inclusion: (1) to have active 15 electrodes for a Nucleus implant and six electrodes for a Medel implant at least and (2) to be cooperative for the tests. Ten healthy subjects with no hearing and balance problem were also included into the study as a control group. All implanted patients had auditory perception and linguistic development tests pre- and postoperatively, MLR and LLR testing postoperatively. Latencies and amplitudes of MLR and LLR were measured. Patients were divided into groups based on the onset of hearing loss (pre- and postlingual), auditory performance (good and moderate), and also duration of postimplantation period. Latency and amplitude of potentials were compared among the pre- and postlingual-CI patients and the control group. The same parameters were compared among the patients with good and moderate auditory performance scores and the control group. Finally, the parameters were analyzed in patients implanted within last 12 months and those implanted earlier. Latency of MLR and LLR was found to be shorter in postlingually deaf implantees compared to prelingually deaf implantees. Amplitudes of MLR and LLR tended to be higher in postlingually deaf implantees compared to prelingually deaf implantees. The better postoperative performance was associated with shorter latency and higher amplitude of MLR and LLR. MLR and LLR latencies were very close to each other in patients implanted within last 12 months and those implanted earlier. MLR and LLR amplitudes were higher in patients implanted earlier than 13 months. However, mentioned comparisons failed to yield statistical strength. Based on these results, it would be reasonable to conclude that postoperative MLR and LLR might give some clues about postoperative performance of CI users.

An Interesting Unknown Combined Pathology in a Patient with Acute Balance Problem.

A 54-year-old woman with acute-onset nausea and vomiting presented to outpatient clinic. She had headache for 3 weeks. She had difficulty during tandem gait and was falling to the right. Otherwise, her neurological examination was normal. She had normal hearing. VNG analysis revealed spontaneous nystagmus beating to the left with optical fixation. However, she had horizontal and slightly down-beating gaze-evoked nystagmus at primary gaze position. Temporal bone CT and MRI showed widespread encephalitis of the right side of the brain and isolated destruction of the right superior semicircular canal. The patient was treated with high-dose combined antibiotics. She had remarkable recovery within 3 weeks.

Acute thrombosis of the carotid artery associated with positional nystagmus at multiple planes.

OBJECTIVE: An acute onset central pathology without any clear neurological symptoms may mimic peripheral vestibular problem in an emergency setting. A 54-year-old man suddenly developed dizziness without any cranial nerve symptoms, paresis, cerebellar signs or sensory disturbances except upbeat positional nystagmus at multiple provoked positions which alerted for a possible acute central pathology. FINDINGS: An instantaneous magnetic resonance imaging and angiography studies further showed obstruction of the left internal carotid artery above the bifurcation. The patient's subsequent prognosis was consistent with good recovery following anti-coagulant therapy. A follow-up MRI and angiography showed resolution of thrombosis. CONCLUSION: It should be kept in mind that positional nystagmus is likely to occur in central pathologies. Differentiation between benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and central positioning nystagmus is critical.