Evaluation of a screening-procedure by hot-water caloric tests

In order to introduce a screening-procedure for vestibular caloric testing, we tried to evaluate the hot and cold caloric tests separately. We made a review of a series of cases having been tested by the classical 4 tests (cold and hot bilateral). In supposing that we should have stopped the investigation when the hot calorics showed a side-difference of 20% or more for the slow-phase velocity at the culminationpoint, we verified how many cases would have been missed, presenting by global examination a significant difference either for the reflexivity or for the DP. This study showed us that an important number of cases would have been missed equally well by the hot calorics as by the cold ones. The comparison shows no difference between them. By narrowing the criteria we would allow a screening-technique either by the cold or by the hotwater test, but in this way more than 3/4 of the cases were indicated for complete examination.