Importance of Video Head Impulse Test Parameters for Recovery of Symptoms in Acute Vestibular Neuritis.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the importance of video head impulse test parameter for recovery of symptoms in acute vestibular neuritis (AVN).

STUDY

DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

Tertiary referral hospital.

PATIENTS/INTERVENTIONS: Twenty-seven patients with AVN were enrolled. We divided patients into two groups according to both dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) score and visual analog scale (VAS) at 6 months: Group F (symptoms free), DHI = 0 and VAS = 0; Group R (symptoms residual), DHI more than zero or VAS more than zero.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: All patients underwent video head impulse test paradigm (HIMP), and suppression head impulse test paradigm (SHIMP) initially and at 1 month. Patients were also asked to complete DHI and VAS initially, at 1 month and 6 months. We compared measured parameters between Group F and R.

RESULTS

In HIMP, Group F showed higher vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR) gain, higher occurrence of covert corrective saccade (CS), lower occurrence and peak velocity of overt CS, and lower PR score than Group R at 1 month. In SHIMP, Group F showed higher VOR gain, higher occurrence and peak velocity of anti-CS, and higher PR score than Group R at 1 month.

CONCLUSIONS

Above parameters of both HIMP and SHIMP at 1 month would be important factors to predict the residual symptoms in chronic phase of AVN.