Best of 2016: False Negative Dix-Hallpike for BPPV

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Alan Desmond
December 20, 2016

Holiday greetings to all. I will be on a beach in Mexico with the women in my life, my lovely wife and daughter. I won’t be thinking about vestibular issues, but I will leave you with one thought regarding the post below. I have tried the headshake technique on a handful of patients with history strongly suggestive of active BPPV, but with a negative Dix-Hallpike at exam time. It worked on a couple of them.  I will report back after I have more opportunity to try this.

Click on this link to read the most popular post of 2016 at Dizziness Depot:  False Negative Dix-Hallpike for BPPV  (originally published May 25, 2016)

  1. Mexican greetings to you! Dr Gianoli (who had had success with this head shaking in some cases) pointed out to me that how the Hallpike is performed is also important. If it is done with infra-red video goggles with the patient in complete darkness, a lot more is picked up than just looking at their eyes. He says many clinicians still do that and then wonder why they have a negative result in someone they suspect has BPPV.

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