Contribuição do PEATE na avaliação de pacientes com queixas vestibulococleares

Abstract

The otoneurological evaluation consists of exams to investigate auditory and vestibular pathologies, among them, the auditory brainstem response and vectonystagmography are tests commonly used in clinical practice. The evoked potentials are useful in cases of peripheral neural involvement and/or brainstem diseases, rarely asked for evaluating patients with vertigo complaints only, dizziness or balance disorders. Because of this, its applicability in these cases remains still unknown. The purpose of this study is to describe the otoneurologic results in patients with vestibular complaints, normal-hearing and with hearing loss, comparing their results in auditory brainstem response to the control-group. For this, 66 dizzy patients were evaluated and then were grouped: group A consisted of 31 normal hearing patients, mean age 40 years old, group B with 25 hearing loss patients, mean age 58 years, control group of ten normal hearing patients, mean age 26 years, without any vestibular or auditory complaints. These people were evaluated through audiometry, vectonystagmography and electrophysiology exams at Centro Clínico Mãe de Deus Center, Porto Alegre city. The corresponding data were grouped according to symptomatology and the exams results. The statistical analysis ANOVA and F significance test, the electrophysiological results were compared to the control group. The patients of groups A and B showed an increased of absolute latency of waves I, III e V statistically significant when compared to control group, although the latency values were within the normal patterns. The absence of wave I occurred in both groups of normal hearing and with hearing loss. In two patients of the group B the vectonystagmography showed central vestibular disease but the electrophysiological measures were normal in these cases. Conclusion: patients with vestibulochoclear complaints showed different electrophysiologyc results when compared to the control-group.