The video head impulse test

Abstract

Conclusion: Additional research is needed to validate the importance of the video head impulse tests (vHIT), but it provides an important contribution to the evaluation of anterior and posterior semicircular canal disorders. Objectives: To share observations of the vHIT test in clinical neurotology and to discuss the significance of the study findings. Methods: This study comprised 200 patients with a clinical history of vestibular disturbances who were submitted to a vHIT including all six semicircular canals. Results: Abnormal responses of the anterior and posterior canals were found in several patients, either alone or combined with altered responses in the lateral canals. A unilateral hypoactive response of a posterior canal was found in a patient with a small vestibular schwannoma.

Keywords::

• Vertigo
• vHIT
• vestibular evaluation

Acknowledgments

This research was financed by the Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein, in São Paulo, Brazil. The authors are indebted to Renato Valerio Cal MD, for valuable suggestions, and to audiologist Thaisa Brusco, who performed many of the vHIT tests.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.