Utility of quick oculomotor tests for screening the vestibular system in the subacute and chronic populations.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of some widely used, easily administered clinical tests.

BACKGROUND: Simple tests of oculomotor function have become widely used for clinical screening of patients suspected of having vestibular disorders despite a paucity of evidence showing good statistical support for their use in this highly variable population.

METHODS: Healthy controls with no history of otologic or neurologic disorders (n = 291) were compared to patients with known vestibular disorders (n = 62). All subjects performed passive and active head shaking, un-instrumented head impulse tests (HT), and video head impulse tests (vHIT) recorded with infrared video-oculography.

RESULTS: For both passive and active head shaking, using presence/absence of vertigo and of nystagmus, sensitivity was low (<0.40). Sensitivity of presence/absence of saccades on HT was even lower (<0.15). On vHIT, gains were all approximately = 1.0, so sensitivity was very low (approximately 0.15-0.35). Sensitivity and specificity for presence/absence of saccades were moderately poor (less than 0.70).

CONCLUSION: None of these tests are adequate for screening patients in the out-patient clinic for vestibular disorders or for screening people in epidemiologic studies to determine the prevalence of vestibular disorders.