Vestibular rehabilitation following the removal of an acoustic neuroma: a systematic review of randomized trials

For citation purposes: Passier L, Doherty D, Smith J, McPhail SM. Vestibular rehabilitation following the removal of an acoustic neuroma: a systematic review of randomized trials. Head Neck Oncol. 2012 Sep 9;4(2):59. Copyright © 2012 OA Publishing London Abstract Introduction An acoustic neuroma (also known as vestibular schwannoma) is an intracranial tumour of the vestibular nerve that is commonly treated by surgical resection. Following resection, patients may experience a range of symptoms that include deficits in gaze stability, mobility and balance. Vestibular rehabilitation may be useful in reducing the severity and minimizing the impact of these symptoms. Objective To systematically review the clinical trial evidence for the effectiveness of vestibular rehabilitation interventions following resection of an acoustic neuroma and provide a concise synthesis useful for informing clinical rehabilitation of this patient population. Data sources Electronic databases including Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase and AUSThealth were searched with no time restriction. Search terms included combinations of MeSH terms (‘acoustic neuroma’, ‘vestibular schwannoma’, ‘acoustic neurinoma’, ‘acoustic neurilemoma’, ‘acoustic neurilemmoma’ or ‘acoustic schwannoma’) and (‘rehabilitation’, ‘physiotherapy’ ‘physical therapy’, ‘adaptation’, ‘habituation’, ‘balance’, ‘exercise’ or ‘gaze stability’). Vestibular rehabilitation following the removal of an acoustic neuroma: a systematic review of randomized trials