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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To (1) quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the vestibular/oculomotor screening (VOMS), and (2) determine the recovery of vestibular and oculomotor impairments exhibited by concussed athletes compared with nonconcussed athletes using the VOMS.
SETTING: Clinical assessment laboratory.
PARTICIPANTS: Amateur athletes who were diagnosed with sport-related concussion by emergency department physicians, and non-concussed, control athletes.
DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal study.
MAIN MEASURES: Participants were assessed 1 week following sport-related concussion, upon clearance to return-to-sporting activity, and 2 weeks following return-to-sporting activity by a study investigator who administered the VOMS. We calculated test sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the VOMS. We performed a mixed-design analysis of variance to assess differences in VOMS symptom scores reported by concussed athletes compared with control athletes.
RESULTS: Fifty concussion participants and 50 control participants completed the study. The VOMS demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 46%, respectively, and produced positive and negative predictive values of 64% and 92%, respectively. The concussion group exhibited a significantly greater symptom provocation change score from baseline than the control group for all test domains of the VOMS only in the first week following concussion.
CONCLUSION: The VOMS may be most useful as a clinical screening tool to rule out, rather than confirm, the presence of sport-related concussion. The VOMS may be appropriate to inform the recovery of vestibular and oculomotor impairments exhibited by concussed individuals over time.
Language: en |