APT may fall short in pulsatile tinnitus

Low sensitivity and specificity suggest a negative tracing should not deter further imaging evaluation.

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In this single-center retrospective study, investigators reviewed APT results from 107 adults with subjective pulsatile tinnitus.
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Against radiologic findings, APT had 51% sensitivity, 57% specificity, 41% positive predictive value, and 66% negative predictive value.
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Against surgeon-defined diagnoses, APT had 43% sensitivity and 55% specificity, with positive and negative predictive values of 43% and 55%.
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Analyses limited to patients whose primary complaint was pulsatile tinnitus showed similarly limited APT screening performance.
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The authors advised pursuing imaging despite a negative APT tracing, noting that some surgeon-diagnosed causes were not identifiable on imaging.

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