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.