Comparisons to other studies
Our hypothesis is that steroids are involved in the changes during static compensation after vestibular imbalance, that can be ongoing for a long-term period after VN.2
Although the latest Cochrane review did not find out enough evidence to support the use of corticosteroids in VN,5 this meta-analysis demonstrates that administration of corticosteroids to patients with VN is significantly effective over long-term follow-up more than 12 months. Our results showed that corticosteroids have a therapeutic effect on recovery of VN in terms of CP of the caloric test. This result is in accordance with previous studies. Okinaka et al.19 reported that normalization of lateral semicircular canal paresis in the caloric test was observed in only 42% of the VN patients in long-term follow-up; in addition, 50% of the patients still suffered from canal paresis even 5 or 10 years after initial diagnosis. Bergenius and Perols 20reported that CP improved at the 7–8-year follow-up, and that CP normalized in 55% of the VN patients. Choi et al.21reported that CP improved during the first 1-year of follow-up. Hwang et al.22 reported that the CP recovery was better in superior VN than it was in overall VN.