Helen S Cohen1, Jasmine Stitz2, Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar3, Susan P Williams4, Ajitkumar P Mulavara5, Brian T Peters5, Jacob J Bloomberg6. 1. Bobby R. Alford Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 2. University of Applied Sciences/Upper Austria, Linz, Austria. 3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 4. Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 5. KBRwyle, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 6. Neuroscience Laboratories, National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Although many screening tests of balance are available, few of them have been well validated for clinical or research uses. The goal of this study was to test an updated version of an old test, Tandem Walking, to determine how useful it is for screening patients with vestibular disorders. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study. METHODS: Subjects were 90 adult patients with vestibular disorders and 292 healthy adult controls. They were tested on the number of correct tandem steps they could perform with arms crossed and eyes closed in a series of 10 steps. Correct steps could be nonconsecutive. Subjects were given one practice trial with eyes open and three experimental trials with eyes closed. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and sensitivity and specificity were calculated. ROC values, sensitivity, and specificity were, at best, only moderate, no matter how the age range was cut. Even for subjects in the age group with the highest ROC value (i.e., age less than 50 years), ROC = 0.8, sensitivity = 0.77, and specificity = 0.72. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that 23% of patients will not be identified. Therefore, we recommend that if this test is used for screening patients in the clinic or healthy volunteers, the result should be interpreted with care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3b. Laryngoscope, 128:1687-1691, 2018.
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Although many screening tests of balance are available, few of them have been well validated for clinical or research uses. The goal of this study was to test an updated version of an old test, Tandem Walking, to determine how useful it is for screening patients with vestibular disorders. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study. METHODS: Subjects were 90 adult patients with vestibular disorders and 292 healthy adult controls. They were tested on the number of correct tandem steps they could perform with arms crossed and eyes closed in a series of 10 steps. Correct steps could be nonconsecutive. Subjects were given one practice trial with eyes open and three experimental trials with eyes closed. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and sensitivity and specificity were calculated. ROC values, sensitivity, and specificity were, at best, only moderate, no matter how the age range was cut. Even for subjects in the age group with the highest ROC value (i.e., age less than 50 years), ROC = 0.8, sensitivity = 0.77, and specificity = 0.72. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that 23% of patients will not be identified. Therefore, we recommend that if this test is used for screening patients in the clinic or healthy volunteers, the result should be interpreted with care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3b. Laryngoscope, 128:1687-1691, 2018.
Authors: Helen S Cohen; Ajitkumar P Mulavara; Brian T Peters; Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar; Doris H Kung; Dennis R Mosier; Jacob J Bloomberg Journal: South Med J Date: 2013-10 Impact factor: 0.954
Authors: Helen S Cohen; Ajitkumar P Mulavara; Brian T Peters; Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar; Jacob J Bloomberg Journal: J Vestib Res Date: 2012-01-01 Impact factor: 2.435
Authors: Ajitkumar P Mulavara; Helen S Cohen; Brian T Peters; Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar; Jacob J Bloomberg Journal: Laryngoscope Date: 2013-04-01 Impact factor: 3.325
Authors: Helen S Cohen; Ajitkumar P Mulavara; Jasmine Stitz; Haleh Sangi-Haghpeykar; Susan P Williams; Brian T Peters; Jacob J Bloomberg Journal: Otol Neurotol Date: 2019-06 Impact factor: 2.311
Authors: Charlotte Johnson; Ann Hallemans; Evi Verbecque; Charlotte De Vestel; Nolan Herssens; Luc Vereeck Journal: J Int Adv Otol Date: 2020-12 Impact factor: 1.017