Reliability of caloric testing
Brian W Blakley1, Nasser Barakat2
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Manitoba, Health Sciences Centre - Winnipeg, GB421 - 820 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3A 1R9, Canada. BBlakley@exchange.hsc.mb.ca.
Objective:
To assess the long-term stability of caloric testing in patients.
Methods:
In this retrospective study, Cronbach's alpha was used to determine whether caloric testing results are stable over time (up to 7 years) in patients who have not undergone interventions. After excluding invalid records, two hundred patients who underwent repeated caloric testing in the same lab over varying periods of time were included.
Results:
Cronbach's alpha scores were 0.512 for unilateral weakness and 0.051 for the sum of caloric tests indicating that the stability of caloric tests is poor over long terms.
Conclusion:
The stability of caloric testing with repeated testing over long terms is not reliable.
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