Remote Delivery of Vestibular Rehabilitation for Vestibular Dysfunction: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background People with vestibular dysfunction encounter many obstacles when seeking vestibular rehabilitation treatment. Remote delivery of vestibular rehabilitation may offer a promising avenue for overcoming these barriers, ensuring uninterrupted and cost-effective care. Objective To evaluate clinical trials studying telerehabilitation and virtual reality devices as therapeutic interventions for individuals with vestibular dysfunction. Methods A PRISMA systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, and SCOPUS was conducted for randomized controlled trials describing the use of remote care delivery for vestibular rehabilitation. Bias of studies was assessed with the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB2). Results The search identified 1,358 unique articles and 14 articles matched the search criteria. Study samples size ranged from 20 to 337, with mean ages ranging from 29.3 to 77.7 years. Interventions included telephone and online communication, exergaming devices, web-based applications, and head-mounted devices to deliver vestibular rehabilitation. Outcomes included validated questionnaires, objective clinical tests, and physical examinations. Conclusions The studies reviewed in this article reported greater or equivalent outcomes when incorporating remote care options as supplements or alternatives to standard care for patients with vestibular dysfunction. Further research is required to address limitations in these studies such as heterogeneity of control groups and cost-effectiveness of these interventions.