Evaluation of the Effect of Behçet's Disease on Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex with Video Head Impulse Test

Abstract

Objective: Behçet's disease (BD) is characterized by re-current oral and genital ulcers, uveitis and vasculitis throughout the body. There are not many studies in the literature on the involvement of the vestibular system in BD. Our aim is to evaluate the vestibular system in Behçet's patients and to determine the clinical importance of video head impulse test (vHIT). Material and Methods: Twenty pa-tients (11 females and nine males) with BD and 15 healthy volunteers (seven females and eight males) were included in the study. Pure tone audiometry (PTA), videonystagmography (VNG), dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) and vHIT tests were administered to all individuals. Data were evaluated by statistical methods. Results: The mean age of the patients with BD was 44±11.2 years, and the mean age of the healthy volunteers was 42±13.3 years. The DHI scores of the patient group were higher than the control group. Results of vHIT showed sig-nificantly lower VOR gain in the left lateral, right, and left posterior semicircular canals in the BD group compared to the control group. Nine (45%) of the BD patients had overt saccade, but none had covert saccade. Overt and covert saccade were not observed in the healthy vol-unteers. Conclusion: vHIT is a fast and accurate test that can be used to evaluate the vestibular system in patients with BD.