Urografin in the treatment of sudden sensorineural hearing loss

The present study was conducted to find out whether combined treatment of intravenous urografin and corticosteroid has a therapeutic advantage over oral corticosteroid therapy in the treatment of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL). The design of the study was an interventional and controlled clinical trial. Between 2003 and 2005, patients with SSNHL were treated in our center in Tabriz, Iran. Patients were selected if they had a hearing loss of at least 30 dB in at least 3 frequencies on audiometric testing. Audiograms were performed before admission, 1 and 2 weeks and 1 and 2 months after treatment. Patients who were put on bed rest and received intravenous urografin and hydrocortisone were compared with outpatients treated with oral steroid alone. Various descriptive analytical calculations and both Chi-square and t-test were used to analyze the data. Sixty patients were included in this study. Fifty-one patients referred to the otological clinics for the appropriate treatment within the first two weeks after the onset of hearing loss. The overall improvement of both groups was 53.3%. Seventeen (56.6%) of 30 patients treated in the inpatient group who received intravenous urografin and intravenous corticosteroid had hearing improvement, while half of the outpatient group received oral corticosteroid responded positively to the treatment (p > 0.05). This study revealed no significant difference in hearing improvement between the hospitalized patients who received intravenous urografin and corticosteroid and the patients who received oral corticosteroid alone.