title: [Recovery of hearing: results of delayed medical treatment in patients with idiopathic sudden hearing loss].
abstract: For the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL), a variety of studies about intravenous drug administration with the beginning of treatment in the early period of less then one week after the onset of hearing loss have been performed. In contrast, very little information is available about the efficacy of intravenous drug therapy for ISSNHL with the beginning of treatment later than four weeks after the onset of hearing loss. In a retrospective chart review we studied the treatment results of 57 patients with ISSNHL with beginning of treatment later than four weeks after the onset of hearing loss with no spontaneous recovery of hearing. Patients received a treatment with intravenous administration of Dextran (concentration 40 g/l with NaCl 0.9%) and Procain-HCl (a derivative of the local anaesthetic lidocaine,400-800 mg in a 500 ml rheologic infusion of Dextran 40). 25% of the patients showed a significant improvement of 10 dB or more in hearing threshold at 1000 Hz measured in bone-conducted pure tone audiometry. In a subjective evaluation 53% of the patients noticed a subjective improvement of their individual hearing thresholds.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde Tübingen.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Maassen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Plontke
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koitschev
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vögler
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Löwenheim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000187:drug effects*; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000187:drug effects; D003911:Dextrans / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006438:Hemodilution; D006801:Humans; D006895:Hydroxyethyl Starch Derivatives / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011343:Procaine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D006895:Hydroxyethyl Starch Derivatives; D011343:Procaine