Is the bedside head impulse test useful in emergency decision making for nonexpert routine clinical practice?

Abstract

In 1988, Halmagyi and Curthoys reported the clinical interest of bedside Head Impulse Test (bHIT) for vestibular system examination. Indeed, vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) deficit can be clinically demonstrated by the observation of a corrective refixation saccade immediately following head thrust. Testing vestibulo-ocular reflex at this high frequency rotation specifically asks for the action of direct short latency VOR pathway from the labyrinths to the extraocular muscles.