Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36970515›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2023

The effects of COVID-19 on the vestibular system.

Lena Zaubitzer, Sonja Ludwig, Michelle Berkemann, Beatrice Walter, Frederic Jungbauer, Valentin Held, Stefan C A Hegemann, Nicole Rotter, Angela Schell

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Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Lena ZaubitzerDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Sonja LudwigDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Michelle BerkemannDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Beatrice WalterDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Frederic JungbauerDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Valentin HeldDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Stefan C A HegemannBalance Clinic Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Nicole RotterDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
Angela SchellDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: The symptoms and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection vary greatly across the spectrum, from asymptomatic infection to severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome and even death. Dizziness is a frequently reported symptom of SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. However, the extent to which this symptom results from the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the vestibular system remains unclear. Materials and methods: In the present single-center, prospective cohort study, patients with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection underwent a vestibular assessment consisting of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory to assess dizziness during and after infection, a clinical examination, the video head impulse test, and the subjective visual vertical test. When the subjective visual vertical test result was abnormal, vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials were performed. Vestibular testing results were compared to pre-existing normative data of healthy controls. In addition, we performed a retrospective data analysis of patients admitted to hospital presenting with acute symptoms of dizziness who were also diagnosed with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results: A total of 50 participants have been enrolled. During and after the SARS-CoV-2 infection, women were significantly more likely than men to suffer from dizziness. A significantly reduced semicircular canal or otolith function was not observed in either women or men. Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection was diagnosed in nine patients who presented to the emergency room with acute vestibular syndrome. Six of the patients exhibited acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy upon diagnosis. A different patient was diagnosed with vestibular migraine, and two individuals had a posterior inferior cerebellar artery infarct revealed by magnetic resonance imaging. Discussion/conclusion: Overall, a persisting structural affection of the vestibular system by SARS-CoV-2 seems to be unlikely and could not be confirmed by vHIT, SVV, and VEMPS in our study. It seems possible but unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 induces acute vestibulopathy. Nevertheless, dizziness is a common symptom in patients with COVID-19, which should be taken and worked through seriously.

Indexed as

COVID-19SVVvestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP)vestibular systemvHIT

Identifiers

PMID36970515
PMCPMC10036591

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.