The Functional Head Impulse Test to Assess Oscillopsia in Bilateral Vestibulopathy

Dooren, T S van; Lucieer, Florence; Duijn, Stijn; Janssen, A. Miranda L.; Guinand, Nils; Fornos, Angelica Pérez; Rompaey, Vincent Van; Kingma, Herman; Ramat, Stefano; Berg, Raymond van de

doi:10.3389/fneur.2019.00365

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this study and the majority of other studies ( 21 , 49 ) reporting DVA testing during treadmill walking, no patients dropped out during walking at 2 km/h. Only the study of van Dooren et al ( 50 ) reported a dropout of 9% at 2 km/h. For DVA testing at 4 km/h, the dropout rates ranged between 5% ( 21 ) and 14% ( 49 ), while in the present study this was 11%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Paving the Way Toward Distinguishing Fallers From Non-fallers in Bilateral Vestibulopathy: A Wide Pilot Observation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Patients with bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP) present with unsteadiness during standing and walking, limiting their activities of daily life and, more importantly, resulting in an increased risk of falling. In BVP patients, falls are considered as one of the major complications, with patients having a 31-fold increased risk of falling compared to healthy subjects. Thus, highlighting objective measures that can easily and accurately assess the risk of falling in BVP patients is an important step in reducing the incidence of falls and the accompanying burdens. Therefore, this study investigated the interrelations between demographic characteristics, vestibular function, questionnaires on self-perceived handicap and balance confidence, clinical balance measures, gait variables, and fall status in 27 BVP patients. Based on the history of falls in the preceding 12 months, the patients were subdivided in a “faller” or “non-faller” group. Results on the different outcome measures were compared between the “faller” and “non-faller” subgroups using Pearson's chi-square test in the case of categorical data; for continuous data, Mann–Whitney U test was used. Performances on the clinical balance measures were comparable between fallers and non-fallers, indicating that, independent from fall status, the BVP patients present with an increased risk of falling. However, fallers tended to report a worse self-perceived handicap and confidence during performing activities of daily life. Spatiotemporal parameters of gait did not differ between fallers and non-fallers during walking at slow, preferred, or fast walking speed. These results may thus imply that, when aiming to distinguish fallers from non-fallers, the BVP patients' beliefs concerning their capabilities may be more important than the moderately or severely affected physical performance within a clinical setting. Outcome measures addressing the self-efficacy and fear of falling in BVP patients should therefore be incorporated in future research to investigate whether these are indeed able to distinguish fallers form non-fallers. Additionally, information regarding physical activity could provide valuable insights on the contextual information influencing behavior and falls in BVP.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Paving the Way Toward Distinguishing Fallers From Non-fallers in Bilateral Vestibulopathy: A Wide Pilot Observation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This test, commercialized by BeOnSolutions society ( ), is based on the ability of a subject to read an optotype briefly presented during impulsive head rotations at varying angular accelerations [ 26 ]. Several studies have been conducted already using this test in adults from the general population [ 15 , 27 ] or with vestibular neuritis [ 16 , 28 ]. Briefly, the testing procedure was as follows: the child was seated on a chair placed at 150 cm distance from a computer screen connected to the fHIT device ( Figure 1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vestibular Functioning in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using the Functional Head Impulse Test

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Several studies in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), reading impairment, or attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD) pointed toward a potential dysfunction of the vestibular system, specifically in its complex relationship with the cerebellum. The aim of the present study was to test the functional vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) responses in children with NDDs to measure functional performance of the vestibular system. The VOR is specifically involved in this stabilization of the image on the retina during rapid movements of the head. To perform this study, four groups of children with ASD, ADHD, reading impairment, and with neurotypical development (TD) were enrolled (n = 80). We performed the functional head impulse test (fHIT), which measured the percentage of correct responses by asking the child to identify an optotype briefly presented during passive head impulse in each direction of each semicircular canal plane. We observed significantly lower correct answers in children with NDDs compared with those with TD (p < 0.0001). Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between the three groups of children with NDDs. Our study fostered preliminary evidence suggesting altered efficiency of vestibular system in children with NDDs. VOR abnormalities estimated using the fHIT could be used as a proxy of NDD impairments in children, and represent a potential biomarker.

show abstract

“…The test has shown effectiveness when evaluating acute unilateral vestibulopathy [ 57 ] and the effect of a prototype vestibular implant [ 58 ]. Although fHIT moderately correlates with oscillopsia severity, no correlation was observed between fHIT and the DVA test on a treadmill [ 59 ]. These tests seem complementary and do not substitute for each other.…”

Section: Testing Of Dynamic Visual Acuitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DVA is a functional outcome of all systems involved: VOR, the oculomotor system, and central processing of signals [ 59 ]. For instance, internal feed-forward commands can mediate gaze [ 60 ], gait stabilization strategies can help to reduce head oscillations [ 61 ], and covert saccades improve DVA in patients with unilateral vestibulopathy [ 34 , 62 ].…”

Section: Testing Of Dynamic Visual Acuitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosing vestibular hypofunction: an update

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Unilateral or bilateral vestibular hypofunction presents most commonly with symptoms of dizziness or postural imbalance and affects a large population. However, it is often missed because no quantitative testing of vestibular function is performed, or misdiagnosed due to a lack of standardization of vestibular testing. Therefore, this article reviews the current status of the most frequently used vestibular tests for canal and otolith function. This information can also be used to reach a consensus about the systematic diagnosis of vestibular hypofunction.

show abstract

The Functional Head Impulse Test to Assess Oscillopsia in Bilateral Vestibulopathy

Cited by 29 publications

References 25 publications

Paving the Way Toward Distinguishing Fallers From Non-fallers in Bilateral Vestibulopathy: A Wide Pilot Observation

Paving the Way Toward Distinguishing Fallers From Non-fallers in Bilateral Vestibulopathy: A Wide Pilot Observation

Vestibular Functioning in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using the Functional Head Impulse Test

Diagnosing vestibular hypofunction: an update

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About