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. 2020 Oct 8;267(Suppl 1):241–255. doi: 10.1007/s00415-020-10243-5

Table 2.

Comparison of quantitative and qualitative results of the 18 BV patients who were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively

Quantitative Qualitative Interview quotations: discrepancies between quantitative and qualitative results
DHI T (P, F, E)
HADS-NL
EQ-5D-5L
Descriptions: physical Descriptions: cognitive Descriptions: emotions
Patient 1

DHI 62 (24, 20, 16)

A = 7, D = 4

EQ-5D-5L = 0,743

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, no fast head movements Difficulties with dual tasking Sadness (suffering, sadness, shame, neglect), fear (nervousness), anger (exasperation, rage) “brought down”, “life is harder”, “intensely miserable”, “feeling down”, “sad”, “fear of falling”, “feeling unsafe”, “anger”
Patient 2

DHI 74 (20, 26, 28)

A = 11, D = 15

EQ-5D-5L = 0.769

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation, concentration problems Sadness (suffering, sadness, disappointment, neglect), fear (nervousness) “major limitation”, “I no longer look forward to anything, as it is always disappointing”, “feeling down”, “dark thoughts”, very sad, disappointed in people, fear of falling (during cycling)
Patient 3

DHI 80 (26, 30, 24)

A = 7, D = 7

EQ-5D-5L = 0.439

Imbalance, neck pain Difficulties with dual tasking, forgetfulness Anger (irritation, rage) “quickly irritated”, “aggressive”
Patient 4

DHI 40 (16, 20,4)

A = 1, D = 2

EQ-5D-5L = 0.798

Imbalance, oscillopsia, neck pain Difficulties with dual tasking Sadness (shame, neglect), joy (optimism) “drunk man”, “no balance”, “toddling”, “I need to hold on”(need of support), cycling: “just as if you are being trapped”, moving horizon, “I’m the guilty one”, “vulnerable”, “I adjusted my life accordingly. It has not put me in a situation where I feel run down now or I think this is the beginning of the end”
Patient 5

DHI 46 (16, 20, 10)

A = 6, D = 4

EQ-5D-5L = 0.622

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, tiredness, nausea, headache Difficulties with dual tasking, concentration problems Sadness (sadness), fear (nervousness) “difficult to walk in a straight line”, cycling: “I fall more easily”, swimming: “I don't like it, the water is moving and everything. Can't focus. And I also find it very scary when I go underwater I just don't know what is above and below”, “I just can't keep my head still”, problems with sun shining through trees and oncoming traffic: “missing a peace”, “sometimes tired of it”,
Patient 6

DHI 38 (10, 16, 12)

A = 7, D = 3

EQ-5D-5L = 0.799

Imbalance, oscillopsia, vertigo attacks, tiredness, tinnitus Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation, concentration problems Sadness (sadness, neglect), fear (nervousness), anger (irritation) “wandering”, “drunk”,”I am a fanatic bird watcher … first I have to stop and by then the bird has often flown”(bird watching not possible anymore), “flickering image”, “visual trailing”, vertigo during concentrating for a long time, cycling and oncoming traffic: “I have no control over what comes towards me. if he swerves, then I'm lost because I don't know what to do”, “reacting more sensitively”, “more insecure”, “fear of your instability” (falling), “stress”
Patient 7

DHI 32 (12, 10, 10)

A = 4, D = 3

EQ-5D-5L = 0.805

Imbalance, oscillopsia, no fast head movements, tiredness, tinnitus, lightheadedness Forgetfulness Sadness (sadness, shame), fear (nervousness), joy (optimism) “staggering”, “drunk”, “You’re not able to cycle in a straight line, than you will fall”, stairs and standing up: “need to hold on”, not able to recognize faces or signs during walking, moving horizon, “fast head movements are difficult”, “tiredness”, standing up quickly: “lightheaded”, “forgetfulness”, “moments of feeling down”, “It’s all my fault”, “fear”, fear of falling, fear of walking stairs, “hyperventilating”, “stress”, Wife: “that makes him very sad”
Patient 8

DHI 52 (20, 20, 12)

A = 10, D = 5

EQ-5D-5L = 0.580

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements, tiredness, lightheadedness Problems with spatial orientation, concentration problems Sadness (sadness, shame, neglect), fear (nervousness) “burnout”, “emotional”, “sadness”, “shame”, “sometimes, I just find it bothersome to be reliant on others” (stopped using antidepressant one week ago)
Patient 9

DHI 64 (22, 26, 16)

A = 16, D = 13

EQ-5D-5L = 0.490

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements, vertigo attacks, tiredness, tinnitus, neck pain, nausea, lightheadedness, headache Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation, forgetfulness Sadness (sadness, shame, neglect), fear (horror), anger (irritation, exasperation, rage)
Patient 10

DHI 76 (24, 28, 24)

A = 12, D = 12

EQ-5D-5L = 0.625

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements, tiredness, tinnitus, lightheadedness Difficulties with dual tasking, concentration problems, forgetfulness Sadness (suffering, sadness, neglect), fear (horror, nervousness), anger (irritation), joy (optimism)
Patient 11

DHI 58 (20, 22, 16)

A = 7, D = 9

EQ-5D-5L = 0.498

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, no fast head movements, vertigo attacks, tiredness, nausea, headache, sleeping problems Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation, concentration problems, forgetfulness Sadness (suffering, sadness, neglect), fear (horror, nervousness), anger (irritation, exasperation), joy (hope, optimism)
Patient 12

DHI 56 (20, 24, 12)

A = 9, D = 1

EQ-5D-5L = 0.700

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements, vertigo attacks, tiredness, tinnitus, nausea, headache Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation Sadness (neglect), anger (exasperation), joy (optimism) “loss of freedom”, “dependent”, “powerlessness up to annoyance”, “insecure”, “incomprehension of others”
Patient 13

DHI 42 (16, 14, 12)

A = 4, D = 3

EQ-5D-5L = 0.837

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo Fear (nervousness), anger (irritation) “anxiety”, “irritation”
Patient 14

DHI 68 (24, 24, 20)

A = 2, D = 1

EQ-5D-5L = 0.730

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements, tiredness, tinnitus, restless mind, sleeping problems Difficulties with dual tasking Sadness (suffering, disappointment, neglect), fear (nervousness) “it controls my whole life”, “often, I find it such a pity”, “displeasure”, “If I go away, I won’t go by myself”, “fear of falling”
Patient 15

DHI 62 (20, 22, 20)

A = 14, D = 8

EQ-5D-5L = 0.776

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, vertigo attacks, tiredness, headache Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation, forgetfulness Sadness (neglect), fear (nervousness), anger (irritation) “dependent”, “more anxious”, “annoying”
Patient 16

DHI 64 (20, 22, 22)

A = 15, D = 14

EQ-5D-5L = 0.589

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, no fast head movements, vertigo attacks, tiredness, tinnitus, neck pain, light-headedness, headache, restless mind Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation Sadness (sadness, disappointment, shame, neglect), fear (nervousness)
Patient 17

DHI 58 (20, 22, 16)

A = 6, D = 7

EQ-5D-5L = 0.608

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, reading difficulties, no fast head movements, tiredness, headache, restless mind Difficulties with dual tasking, problems with spatial orientation, concentration problems Sadness (sadness, shame, neglect, sympathy), fear (nervousness), anger (irritation), joy (hope, optimism) “it spoils everything”, “I feel really guilty”, “you don't want everyone to see it”(embarrassed), “I have to hand it over”, “feeling left out”, “I don't want to appear pathetic”, cycling: “stressful”, “annoying”, “short fuse”, “I try to get everything out of it”
Patient 18

DHI 12 (0, 6, 6)

A = 0, D = 1

EQ-5D-5L = 0.824

Imbalance, oscillopsia, visual vertigo, no fast head movements Difficulties with dual tasking Fear (nervousness), love (affection) “I sway”, “staggering”, “drunk”, “falling”, “fell with the bicycle”, horizon: “moves during walking”, not able to recognize faces or read signs or boxes in the supermarket during walking, “not able to focus”, “hard to look back” (literally: turning head), “fear of losing balance”, “more anxious”, “It takes more effort and more concentration”

The second column presents the results of the quantitative data per patient. “T (P, F, E)” represent the total (T), physical (P), functional (F), and emotional (E) scores of the DHI questionnaire. “A” and “D” indicate the anxiety (A) and depression (D) subscales of the HADS questionnaire. The third–fifth columns show the symptoms described during the semi-structured interviews. The last column demonstrates relevant quotations per patient, which illustrate discrepancies between the quantitative and qualitative results