PHOBIC POSTURAL VERTIGO - A FIRST FOLLOW-UP

Seventy-eight patients with phobic postural vertigo (PPV) and 17 patie nts with psychogenic disorder of stance and gait (PSG) were asked to e valuate their condition 6 months to 5.5 years after their original ref erral and short-term pay chotherapy. Two results seem most important: (I) PPV had a favourable course with a 72% improvement rate (22% of pa tients becoming symptom free), whereas the majority of patients with P SG (52%) remained unchanged; (2) the majority of patients with PPV exp erienced complete remission or considerable improvement even if their condition had lasted between 1 and 20 years prior to diagnosis. Comple te remission of PSG was observed only if the disorder had been present less than 4 months; there was no improvement if it had lasted longer than 2 years. PPV can be defined as a distinct clinical entity with a relatively benign course. It can be reliably diag nosed on the basis o f typical features.