Objective
To correlate objective measures of vestibular and audiometric function as well as subjective measures of dizziness handicap with the surface area of the superior canal dehiscence (SCD)
Study Design
Retrospective chart review and radiological analysis
Setting
Single tertiary academic referral center
Patients
Preoperative CT imaging, patient survey, audiometric thresholds, and VEMP testing in patients with confirmed SCD
Intervention(s)
Image analysis techniques were developed to measure the surface area of each SCD in CT imaging.
Main outcome measure(s)
Preoperative ocular and cervical VEMPs, air and bone conduction thresholds, ABG, dizziness handicap inventory scores, and surface area of the SCD
Results
Fifty-three patients (mean age 52.7 years) with 84 SCD were analyzed. The median surface area of dehiscence was 1.44 mm2 (0.068-8.23 mm2). Ocular VEMP amplitudes (r = 0.61, p < 0.0001), cervical VEMP amplitudes (r = 0.62, p < 0.0001), air conduction thresholds at 250 Hz (r = 0.25, p = 0.043), and ABG at 500 Hz (r = 0.27, p =0.01) positively correlated with increasing size of dehiscence. An inverse relationship between cervical VEMP thresholds (r = −0.56, p < 0.0001) and surface area of the dehiscence was observed. No association between dizziness handicap and surface area was identified.
Conclusions
Among patients with confirmed SCD, ocular and cervical VEMP amplitudes, cervical VEMP thresholds, and air conduction thresholds at 250 Hz are significantly correlated with the surface area of the dehiscence.