Clinical consensus on vestibular infant screening

Jun Yang^{1

2

3}, Jiali Shen^{1

2

3}, Yulian Jin^{1

2

3}, Jianyong Chen^{1

2

3}, Qing Zhang^{1

2

3}, Ling Lu⁴, Xiaowan Chen⁵, Hong Yu⁶, Wen Xie⁷, Qingqing Dai⁸, Lian Fang⁹, Yideng Huang⁹, Busheng Tong¹⁰, Xia Gao¹¹, Xiaoyun Qian¹¹, Lisheng Yu¹², Daogong Zhang¹³, Yong Fu¹⁴, Jie Zhang¹⁵, Wenyan Li¹⁶, Pedro Marques¹⁷, Josine Widdershoven¹⁸, Raymond van de Berg^{18

19}, Yi-Ho Young²⁰, Ilmari Pyykkö²¹, Kimitaka Kaga^{22

23}, Soumit Dasgupta²⁴, Maoli Duan^{25

26

27}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine Ear Institute, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine on Ear and Nose Diseases, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
⁷ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
⁸ Department of Otolaryngology, Dizziness Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁹ Department of Otolaryngology, The first Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
¹⁰ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The first affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
¹¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing, China.
¹² Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, People's Hospital of Peking University, Beijing, China.
¹³ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
¹⁴ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
¹⁶ ENT institute and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Eye & ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
¹⁷ Unit of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery & Physiology, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal.
¹⁸ Department of Otorhinolarynology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
¹⁹ Department of Otorhinolarynology, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
²⁰ Department of Otolaryngology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan, China.
²¹ Hearing and Balance Research Unit, Field of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
²² Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
²³ National Institute of Sensory Organs, National Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁴ Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, East Prescot Road, Liverpool, L14 5AB, UK.
²⁵ Department of Otolaryngology, The first Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China. maoli.duan@ki.se.
²⁶ Ear Nose and Throat Patient Area, Trauma and Reparative Medicine Theme, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. maoli.duan@ki.se.
²⁷ Division of Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. maoli.duan@ki.se.

PMID: 41276659
DOI: 10.1007/s00405-025-09833-8

Review

Clinical consensus on vestibular infant screening

Jun Yang et al. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2025.

. 2025 Nov 23.

doi: 10.1007/s00405-025-09833-8. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine Ear Institute, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine on Ear and Nose Diseases, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
⁷ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
⁸ Department of Otolaryngology, Dizziness Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁹ Department of Otolaryngology, The first Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China.
¹⁰ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The first affiliated Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
¹¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Jiangsu Provincial Key Medical Discipline (Laboratory), Nanjing, China.
¹² Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, People's Hospital of Peking University, Beijing, China.
¹³ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
¹⁴ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
¹⁶ ENT institute and Otorhinolaryngology Department of Eye & ENT Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
¹⁷ Unit of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery & Physiology, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal.
¹⁸ Department of Otorhinolarynology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
¹⁹ Department of Otorhinolarynology, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium.
²⁰ Department of Otolaryngology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan, China.
²¹ Hearing and Balance Research Unit, Field of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
²² Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
²³ National Institute of Sensory Organs, National Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁴ Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, East Prescot Road, Liverpool, L14 5AB, UK.
²⁵ Department of Otolaryngology, The first Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, China. maoli.duan@ki.se.
²⁶ Ear Nose and Throat Patient Area, Trauma and Reparative Medicine Theme, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. maoli.duan@ki.se.
²⁷ Division of Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. maoli.duan@ki.se.

PMID: 41276659
DOI: 10.1007/s00405-025-09833-8

Abstract

Purpose: To address the current lack of standardized protocols for vestibular infant screening (VIS), this clinical consensus aims to establish a clinical consensus on VIS in infants aged 0-12 months. Given a frequent co-occurrence of vestibular dysfunction in children with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and the significant impact of vestibular dysfunction on early development, early identification and management are critical.

Methods: This clinical consensus was developed by a panel of 28 international experts in pediatric otolaryngology and vestibular disorders through a structured, multi-round Delphi process. Panelists were selected based on clinical and academic expertise, representing 26 institutions across Asia and Europe. A comprehensive literature review (2000-2024) informed the initial draft of consensus statements. The consensus was reached through three iterative rounds of anonymous rating and feedback, followed by virtual discussions. Statements achieving ≥ 80% agreement were retained in the final consensus, which focused on screening tools, target populations, optimal timing, and standardized cVEMP recording protocols for infants.

Results: The expert panel reached consensus on key recommendations in four domains: screening tool, target screening population, timing of vestibular function screening, and recording protocol for cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP).

Conclusion: This clinical consensus provides foundational guidance for the implementation of VIS in infants, advocating for standardized protocols to improve early diagnosis and intervention. Widespread adoption of these recommendations may enhance developmental outcomes by enabling timely detection and management of vestibular dysfunction in early childhood.

Keywords: Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials; Infant; Sensorineural hearing loss; Vestibular dysfunction; Vestibular infant screening.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Compliance with ethical standards: The author declares no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, relevant to this work.

References

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1. Shen J, Wang L, Ma X, Chen Z, Chen J, Wang X, He K, Wang W, Sun J, Zhang Q, Shen M, Chen X, Zhang Q, Kaga K, Duan M, Yang J, Jin Y (2022) Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in 3-month-old infants: comparative characteristics and feasibility for infant vestibular screening. Front Neurol 13:992392. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.992392 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

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Clinical consensus on vestibular infant screening

Affiliations

Clinical consensus on vestibular infant screening

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

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