Pediatric Vestibular and Balance Assessment (CME)
2019 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO Experience
Keyword(s)
peripheral vestibular tests, central pathology in children
This session will focus on providing a succinct framework for determining: 1) when to perform vestibular testing in a child, and 2) interpretation of such tests, emphasizing the most common diagnoses, as well as those uncommon but serious 'not to miss' ones. The use of complimentary diagnostic tests such as imaging studies will also be reviewed. Clinicians attending this session will be given a practical guide to the evaluation of children presenting with vestibular and balance disorders with an increased understanding of underlying mechanism, relative value of testing, and a reliable framework to allow complete diagnosis and management. Pediatric vestibular disorders are an underappreciated entity despite the fact that they have far reaching clinical consequences. Many children who present with vertigo or imbalance do not receive appropriate clinical evaluation or diagnostics. There is however a growing interest in such disorders, their evaluation and diagnosis given our evolving understanding of the impact of such disorders. Vestibular dysfunction leads to challenges that extend beyond balance and may also impact cognitive load for example as these children may spend an inordinate amount of energy in order to simply remain upright. Recognizing such disorders and accurately evaluating will allow us to better understand their impact and more importantly how such consequences can be minimized through therapy.
Credits
CME:1.0, MOC:1.0
Description
This session will focus on providing a succinct framework for determining: 1) when to perform vestibular testing in a child, and 2) interpretation of such tests, emphasizing the most common diagnoses, as well as those uncommon but serious 'not to miss' ones. The use of complimentary diagnostic tests such as imaging studies will also be reviewed. Clinicians attending this session will be given a practical guide to the evaluation of children presenting with vestibular and balance disorders with an increased understanding of underlying mechanism, relative value of testing, and a reliable framework to allow complete diagnosis and management. Pediatric vestibular disorders are an underappreciated entity despite the fact that they have far reaching clinical consequences. Many children who present with vertigo or imbalance do not receive appropriate clinical evaluation or diagnostics. There is however a growing interest in such disorders, their evaluation and diagnosis given our evolving understanding of the impact of such disorders. Vestibular dysfunction leads to challenges that extend beyond balance and may also impact cognitive load for example as these children may spend an inordinate amount of energy in order to simply remain upright. Recognizing such disorders and accurately evaluating will allow us to better understand their impact and more importantly how such consequences can be minimized through therapy.Learning Objectives: 1. Examine effectively the child presenting with a clinical complaint of vertigo. 2. Interpret peripheral vestibular tests with the goal of identifying a diagnosis. 3. Recognize warning signs of central pathology in children presenting with vertigo.Faculty: Robert O'Reilly, MD(Nothing to Disclose), Sharon Cushing, MD(Other: patent #7041-0; Royalty: Plural Publishing; Other: Cochlear Corporation; Interacoustics; Oticon).
