Minimum detectable change and false positive rates of the vestibular/ocular motor screening (VOMS) tool: an NCAA-DoD care consortium analysis

ABSTRACT

Objective

To derive minimum detectable change (MDC) across individual Vestibular-Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) items and VOMS overall score in 17–25 years old collegiate athletes and to examine false positive rates.

Method

Participants (n = 378) completed VOMS pre-season for two consecutive years. MDC was identified for individual VOMS symptom items and NPC distance (cm). Both total and change methods of VOMS scoring were included in analysis.

Results

Regarding total scoring, MDC for ocular VOMS symptom items was 1 and MDC for vestibular VOMS symptoms items was 2. MDC for NPC was 4 cm and for VOMS overall score was 10. Regarding change scoring, MDC for each VOMS symptom item was 1, and for VOMS overall score was 8. False positives ranged from 5.3% to 15.9%.

Conclusions

This study presents MDCs for each VOMS item and overall VOMS score, using total and change scoring. These values can be considered true change outside measurement error with 95% confidence in a 17–25 year old collegiate athlete population.

KEYWORDS:

• Concussion
• vestibular
• ocular
• VOMS
• symptoms

Acknowledgments

This research has not been presented. This research was funded by the NCAA/DoD CARE Consortium.

Conflicts of interest/competing interests

Dr Kontos and Dr Collins receive research funding from the CDC, Department of Defense (DoD), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Football League (NFL), and National Institutes for Health (NIH) through the University of Pittsburgh and royalties from APA Books. Dr Collins was previously a co-developer and shareholder of ImPACT Applications, Inc.

Additional information

Funding

This publication was made possible, in part, with support from the Grand Alliance Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium, funded, in part by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD). The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office.  This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, through the Combat Casualty Care Research Program, endorsed by the Department of Defense, through the Joint Program Committee 6/Combat Casualty Care Research Program – Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Program under Award No. W81XWH1420151.