Hart C W
Department of Clinical Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Int Tinnitus J. 2001;7(1):13-9.
The measurement of vestibular impairment for medicolegal purposes represents a challenge. In the United States, the most widely employed system is that described in the American Medical Association's (AMA's) Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The fourth edition, published in 1993, represented a major step forward at that time, but room for improvement still exists. The problem areas in the Guides are discussed and appropriate modifications are suggested. Briefly, balance disorders are divided into two general categories, constant and recurrent (episodic). Using this novel approach, scales for quantification of the symptoms and signs (and laboratory tests for each), in increasing order of severity, are suggested. In this manner, an overall score may be derived for any individual with a permanent medicolegal balance impairment.
出于法医学目的进行前庭功能损害的测量是一项挑战。在美国，应用最广泛的系统是美国医学协会（AMA）的《永久性损伤评估指南》中所描述的系统。1993年出版的第四版在当时是向前迈出的重要一步，但仍有改进的空间。本文讨论了该指南中的问题领域并提出了适当的修改建议。简而言之，平衡障碍大致分为两类，持续性和复发性（发作性）。采用这种新方法，建议按照严重程度递增的顺序制定症状和体征（以及每项的实验室检查）量化量表。通过这种方式，可以得出任何患有永久性法医学平衡障碍个体的总体评分。
