Participants
nausea and vomiting, Vertigo, dementia, vertigo, substance abuse, vestibular disorders
MAY, VERTIGO, VESTIBULAR DISORDER
All otolaryngologists working at the medical center were informed that they could refer patients with vestibular disorders for biofeedback treatment. All referred patients had to meet the following inclusion criteria: diagnosis of labyrinthine endolymphatic hydrops or vascular labyrinthopathy; aged > 18 years; pharmacological stabilization of the acute phase for autonomic symptoms (e.g., nausea and vomiting) and vestibular symptoms that prevent biofeedback treatment; had adequate native language skills to complete the questionnaire. Exclusion criteria were vertigo symptoms caused by dementia or substance abuse. One hundred and ninety-seven patients with vertigo, aged 18–85 years, were consecutively recruited from May 2019 to May 2020.The study was a pragmatic trial conducted under routine conditions and therefore, randomization was not possible. Moreover, for ethical reasons, we could not withdraw eligible patients from a potentially beneficial intervention. In an attempt to overcome this problem, we opted to use a natural control group, which consisted of patients selected for participation, but kept on a waiting list due to space limitations. Indeed, given the limited number of biofeedback therapists, only 106 patients could be treated at the medical center over the course of one year. As a result, the only patient selection and participation criterion was temporal priority.The study was conducted according to the principles outlined in the declaration of Helsinki and approved by the management of the Vertigo Treatment Center. All participants signed a written informed consent prior to the start the study and were free to leave the study at any time.