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Intratympanic gentamicin titration therapy for intractable Meniere's disease
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Objective:
This study aimed to assess the efficacy and morbidity of intratympanic gentamicin titration therapy on patients with intractable unilateral Meniere's disease.
Study Design:
The study design was a retrospective chart review and patient interviews.
Setting:
The study was conducted at a tertiary referral ambulatory dizziness clinic at the London Health Sciences Centre, University Campus, from July 1992 to June 1997.
Intervention:
Eighty-three patients received weekly intratympanic gentamicin injections in their diseased ear. Treatments were terminated after four injections or sooner if patients met clinical or audiologic criteria. Sixty-eight patients were available for detailed follow-up.
Main Outcome Measures:
Vertigo frequency, hearing status, personal disability ratings, tinnitus level, and caloric responses before and after gentamicin therapy were measured.
Results:
Eighty-four percent of patients showed complete, and an additional 6% showed substantial, vertigo control. At 24 months, 17% of patients demonstrated a clinically significant (10-dB) reduction in hearing, but 26% showed a significant hearing improvement. Overall, the group showed no combined statistically significant changes in any of the hearing parameters. No patients had an "extreme" drop in hearing (>30 dB).
Conclusions:
Intratympanic gentamicin titration therapy provides excellent vertigo control with a low incidence of hearing loss.