title: Caloric and rotatory chair test results in patients with Ménière's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether an association exists between the parameters of the caloric and rotatory chair tests in patients with unilateral Ménière's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with unilateral Ménière's disease (n = 100) were subjected to the caloric and the rotatory chair test (sinusoidal harmonic acceleration and impulsive tests) on the same day. Canal paresis and directional preponderance were assessed in the caloric test, and different variables were measured in the rotatory chair test based on the existence of abnormal parameters in the vestibulo-ocular reflex at two or three consecutive frequencies of those tested and on the time constant of the vestibulo-ocular reflex.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study was conducted at a University hospital.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An abnormal result in the caloric test was obtained from 73% of the patients. In the rotatory chair test, the most frequent abnormal findings involved increases in the normal phase lead at 2 consecutive frequencies tested (23%). There was a stronger association between an abnormal result in phase, gain, and/or symmetry at three adjacent frequencies and a pathological result in the caloric test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Very few of the criteria used to define the caloric and rotatory chair tests seem to be associated. This confirms previous knowledge that both tests examine vestibulo-ocular reflex by different ways. Only when vestibular dysfunction is severe enough (manifested by the finding of an abnormal result in at least three consecutive frequencies in the rotatory chair test), the caloric test is also found to be abnormal.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hospital Universitario Arnau de Vilanova, University of Lérida, Lérida, Spain.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Palomar-Asenjo
authors.forename: Ma Soledad
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Boleas-Aguirre
authors.forename: Noelia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Ferrándiz
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Perez Fernandez
mesh_terms: D002150:Caloric Tests / Q000379:methods*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012027:Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests / Q000379:methods*