Search Strategy and Inclusion Criteria

Three online scientific databases were used to conduct a systematic search of the literature: OVID MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online: 1946 to June 26th, 2018), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature: 1982 to June 26th, 2018), and OVID EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database: 1946 to June 26th, 2018). A meticulous search while using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords was performed on these databases. A sample search strategy on EMBASE database has been provided as Supplementary Table 1. A “Pediatric” and an “Observational Studies” pre-set filters were included to limit the searches to the 0–21 population, and to focus on observational studies, respectively. In addition to the database searches, cross-referencing and hand-searches were performed, and relevant studies were included in the search results.

From the three database searches, 737 studies were screened by title and abstract independently by four reviewers. Two reviewers screened half of the studies, and two reviewers the other half. Through the same screening method, 111 studies were then assessed by full text for eligibility, and 87 were excluded as per the criteria discussed below. Twenty-four studies were finally included in the review (Figure 1). Pairs of reviewers assigned to the same studies met regularly, and, if a disagreement took place, a third reviewer from the other pair was consulted. The following inclusion criteria were used to include the studies screened in the analysis: (1) Observational studies: cohort, cross-sectional, or case-control studies; (2) Studies that focus on children and adolescent aged 3–21 years old, from any country; (3) Studies that focus on children who belong to 1 or more of the 5 populations under study: CP, SNHL, CI, and TBI; (4) Studies looking at any vestibular dysfunction, diagnosed through at least one standardized vestibular test; (5) Studies that declare a prevalence of vestibular dysfunction, or from which a prevalence can be calculated. Here, the prevalence was defined as the proportion of population demonstrating a similar characteristic during a given period of time (37); (6) Studies written in English of French.

Illustrates the PRISMA search strategy.