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Hearing evaluation of intratympanic methylprednisolone perfusion for refractory sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Wandong She1, Yanhong Dai, Xiaoping Du
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School, 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing 210008, China. shewandong@163.com
Objective:
To investigate the effectiveness and safety of intratympanic methylprednisolone perfusion (IMP) through a microcatheter in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) who failed a conventional treatment.
Study Design:
Prospective clinical study.
Setting:
This study was conducted in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing University Medical School.
Subjects And Methods:
Patients who had failed a minimum 10-day conventional treatment were included. Twenty-six patients in the study group (SG) received methylprednisolone perfusion through a microcatheter placed into the tympanum once a day for 10 days and the conventional treatment. Twenty-three patients who received a second conventional treatment (no steroid) served as the comparison group (CG). All patients were followed up for three months after the end of treatment.
Results:
The effective rates for SG and CG were 50 percent (61.9% when only patients with an interval from onset to IMP < or = 60 days were included) and 21.7 percent, respectively (chi(2) = 4.194, P = 0.041). The pure-tone average improvement was 20.2 +/- 15.6 dB in SG, and 9.2 +/- 13.7 dB in CG (z = 2.51, P = 0.011). In SG, hearing improvement at low frequencies was better than that at high frequencies. The interval from onset to IMP affected the efficacy of IMP.
Conclusion:
IMP through a microcatheter is a promising treatment for refractory SSNHL. The data suggest that the treatment may be more effective when administered at the earlier stages of SSNHL when the conventional treatment has failed.
