視覚による水平位の判断--その平衡機能検査としての意義

概要

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One hundred and forty-four patients who complained vertigo or ataxia, 12 patients with chronic otitis media who underwent middle ear surgery and 39 healthy adults, as normal controls, were examined.The subjects were seated in an upright position in a dark room. A luminous line was placed 170cm from the subject at the level of the eyes. The line was mounted at its midpoint and could be rotated by pushing the switch held in the hand of the subjects. Each subject was instructed to make a luminous line horizontal by pushing the switch.Result:1. Healthy controls perceived the direction of gravity most accurately and made few errors (0.54 on an average).2. Some patients with peripheral disorders made large errors, and such was attributed to labyrinthine syphilis, neuritis vestibularis, sudden deafness and Hunt's syndrome. Those with acoustic tumors made few errors.3. No clear correlation was demonstrated between the judgment of visual horizontal and stepping tests.4. Patients with otitis media showed large errors, post-operatively.5. Subjects who had had a recent unilateral canal paresis made large errors. In the case of a right sided canal paresis, he set the right side of the luminous line lower than the true horizontal.These observations are significant because they indicate the possible utility of this test in diagnosing and following vestibular disorders.