Caloric Reflex Test

Issues of Concern

Areas of Concern

• Caloric inversion - where patterns of nystagmus present in opposite directions to those expected; this can result from wrong placement of the leads or following air caloric testing in an ear with the perforated tympanic membrane
• Caloric perversion - occurs in lesions within the floor of the fourth ventricle and multiple sclerosis
• Dysrhythmia - seen in patients demonstrating anxious behaviors
• Arreflexia - frequent following bilateral peripheral vestibular damage from ototoxic drugs[5]

Clinical Significance

Caloric Reflex Testing

When a person is fully awake, the caloric reflex tests the tonic vestibular stimulation with its reflexive slow deviation of the eyes and the fast corrective saccadic movement initiated by the frontal eye field. With warm water irrigation, the normal response consists of a slow movement of the eyes away from the side of the stimulus and a corrective fast saccade towards the side of the stimulus. Opposite responses occur with cold water irrigation.

When the patient is comatose, there will not be any fast corrective saccade. As a result, an intact cold caloric response will only have the slow tonic phase of conjugate deviation of the eyes towards the cold-stimulated ear and away from the warm-stimulated ear. Intact caloric reflex in a comatose patient will indicate the integrity of the brainstem reflex pathways. The clinical utilization of the reflex will include the following:

1. In patients with suspected peripheral vestibular problems, the bithermal caloric test, coupled best with ENG, will be able to define the side with peripheral vestibular hypofunction. Caloric areflexia may indicate bilateral vestibulopathy due to vestibular toxins such as aminoglycosides or cisplatinum.
2. In comatose patients, the first step in assessment is generally the bedside vestibulo-ocular (VOR) testing (doll eye signs). If this is negative, a monothermic (cold caloric) test provides a much stronger stimulus than the VOR. An absence of tonic deviation of eyes to the side of cold water irrigation confirms a problem in the brainstem. Differences in the position of the eyes during the monothermic cold caloric may provide additional clues to the underlying brainstem problems. When cold water is irrigated into the ear of a comatose patient, we should see the deviation of both eyes to the side of the cold stimulus. If there is a loss of abduction of the ipsilateral eye, it indicates an ipsilateral lateral rectus (abducens nerve) palsy. A loss of adduction of the contralateral eye indicates internuclear ophthalmoplegia or a contralateral lesion of the medial longitudinal fasciculus.
3. In patients with brain stem death, the slow and fast components of the horizontal nystagmus will both be absent.[6][7][8]
4. In a patient in a persistent vegetative state, only the slow component will be seen, indicating an intact brain stem. The fast component of the nystagmus will be absent due to absent cortical functioning.[9]
5. In patients suspected of suffering from conversion disorder with pseudocoma, monothermic cold caloric testing will result in a typical cold caloric reflex with the fast phase beating towards the contralateral side. The patient should wake up immediately with severe nausea and vomiting; this is a sensitive and specific test for pseudocoma, yet it should be performed cautiously due to the severe discomfort associated with the test.

 Limitations of Caloric Reflex Testing

• Time-consuming
• High interrater bias with poor interrater reliability
• Poor compliance from the patient due to discomfort
• The size of the external ear canal and the pattern of generation of the convection current have a significant influence on the results[5]
• Stimulates only lateral semicircular canal at low frequencies[10]

Nursing, Allied Health, and Interprofessional Team Interventions

The caloric reflex test is most helpful and utilized most frequently in the intensive care setting, especially when the patient is comatose. The nursing staff must monitor vital signs with increased care and frequency. The intensivist must determine the etiology of the coma and assess the severity and prognosis. The pharmacist has to advise and monitor the use of medications and side effects. Consultation with the neurology team is often necessary as a part of interprofessional management.

The caloric reflex test is an invaluable tool to assist in identifying any generalized or localized brainstem disorder and help in assessing the prognosis. In addition, the monothermic ice water cold caloric test is essential to brainstem reflex assessment to help determine if a patient has brain death. This evaluation is an integral part of the activities of the interprofessional organ transplant team.