Bone Conduction Cervical Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials as an Alternative in Children with Middle Ear Effusion.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the amplitude ratio and P-wave latency of cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (c-VEMPs) for bone conduction (BC) and air conduction (AC) stimulation in children with otitis media with effusion (OME).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This is an observational study of a cohort of 27 children and 46 ears with OME. The c-VEMP amplitude ratio and P-wave latency were compared between BC and AC in children with OME and healthy age-matched children.

RESULTS

The c-VEMP response rate in children with OME was 100% when using BC stimulation and 11% when using AC stimulation. The amplitude ratio for BC was significantly higher in the OME group than the age-matched healthy control group ( = 0.004). When focusing on ears with an AC c-VEMP response ( = 5), there was a significant difference in the amplitude ratio between the AC and BC stimulation modes, but there was no significant difference in the AC results between the OME group and the age-matched control group.

CONCLUSIONS

BC stimulation allows for reliable vestibular otolith testing in children with middle ear effusion. Given the high prevalence of OME in children, clinicians should be aware that recording c-VEMPs with AC stimulation may lead to misinterpretation of otolith dysfunction in pediatric settings.