Comparison of three diagnostic tests in detecting vestibular deficit in patients with peripheral vestibulopathy

This study aimed to evaluate the results of the video head impulse test and of the caloric and rotatory chair tests in patients with dizziness. Agreement between test results was assessed and the best protocol for detecting peripheral vestibulopathy was identified.

Participants comprised 116 patients, 75 with a peripheral vestibulopathy and 41 with non-peripheral vestibulopathy. The main outcome measures were classified as normal or abnormal according to our laboratory data.

Agreement between tests was low. Vestibulopathy testing that required all three results to be abnormal had a sensitivity of 0.547, a specificity of 0.878, and positive and negative predictive values of 0.891 and 0.514, respectively. Vestibulopathy testing that required just one result to be abnormal had a sensitivity of 0.933, a specificity of 0.292, and positive and negative predictive values of 0.701 and 0.705, respectively.

In peripheral vestibulopathy, there was weak concordance in the assessment of horizontal semicircular canal function among the different tests. However, the video head impulse test had sufficient statistical power to be recommended as the first-line test.