Clinical characteristics of vestibular migraine patients based on Caloric Test

Objective To explore the joint evaluation value of canal paresis (CP), directional preponderance (DP), and fixation index (FI) in caloric tests for assessing peripheral and central vestibular damage in vestibular migraine (VM)Methods Clinical data of 126 VM patients completing caloric tests were retrospectively analyzed and divided into attack and interictal groups. Additionally, 100 healthy individuals were included as controls. Differences in core caloric test parameters (CP, DP, FI) among the groups were compared in terms of both means and abnormal/positive rates.Results The means and abnormal/positive rates of CP, DP, and FI in the VM attack group (37.3%, 41.3%, and 31.0%, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the interictal group (13.5%, 22.2%, and 8.0%, respectively) (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, the interictal group’s mean indicators were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls (all p < 0.001), while the healthy controls had a 0% abnormal/positive rate.Conclusion Joint analysis of CP, DP, and FI has important laboratory reference value for evaluating vestibular function in VM. Vestibular abnormalities in both attack and interictal periods reflect pathological characteristics involving both peripheral and central pathways. The caloric test is an effective clinical tool for the dynamic evaluation of vestibular function in VM, rather than a standalone diagnostic instrument.