Dynamic changes of vestibular autorotation test in patients with unilateral vestibular dysfunction during rehabilitation

Abstract

Objective: To explore the dynamic changes of vestibular autorotation test (VAT) before and after vestibular rehabilitation treatment in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH). Methods: A retrospective study was carried out,48 patients who were diagnosed with UVH and under vestibular rehabilitation in department of otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, from January 2019 to January 2021 were enrolled. Among them, there were 21 males and 27 females, with an average age of 46.9 years old, including 25 cases of Meniere's disease, 13 cases of sudden deafness with vertigo and 10 cases of vestibular neuritis. The course of disease ranged from 5 days to 10 years. Demographic characteristics, detailed case data and routine examination were collected for the patients. The horizontal gain/phase, vertical gain/phase, and asymmetry of VAT at different frequencies before and after vestibular rehabilitation were collected. The absolute value of the difference between the measured value of 2.0-5.9 Hz before and after rehabilitation and the standard value were statistically analyzed. Results: Before vestibular rehabilitation, the incidence of abnormal gain was 62.5% (30/48), the incidence of abnormal phase was 56.3% (27/48), and the incidence of asymmetry was 16.7% (8/48). After 4-6 weeks of vestibular rehabilitation, the incidence of gain abnormality was 22.9% (11/48), the incidence of phase abnormality was 31.3% (15/48), and the incidence of asymmetry was 12.5% (6/48).The horizontal gain at frequency of 2.0-3.9 Hz showed statistically significant difference compared with before vestibular rehabilitation (P<0.05), and the horizontal gain at frequency of 4.3-5.9 Hz showed that there was no significant difference (P>0.05); the horizontal phase at 5.9 Hz showed that the difference was statistically significant (P=0.043), and there was no significant difference before and after rehabilitation treatment at 2.0-5.5 Hz (P>0.05); the vertical gain at 4.3 Hz showed the difference was statistically significant (P=0.020), and the remaining frequency showed no significant difference (P>0.05); No frequency of asymmetry and vertical phase showed the difference before and after rehabilitation was statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: VAT can be used to monitor the change trend of multiple frequency bands before and after vestibular rehabilitation in UVH, in order to provide reference for the formulation of personalized rehabilitation strategies.