Muhammad Shuja Farrukh, Iqbal Hussain Udaipurwala, Iqbal A Muhammad Khyani, Gulzar A Shaikh, Jawaid Alam.
Cochlear and Vestibular Toxicity by the Use of Ototoxic Drugs - The Regional Experience.
Pak J Otolaryngol Jan ;24(3):28-30.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to find out the common pharmacologic agents causing ototoxicity in our region with their pattern of presentation and effects on the inner ear. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective and descriptive. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: This study was conducted at department of Ear, Nose, Throat, Head & Neck Surgery, Civil Hospital Karachi, over a period of three years from January 1998 to December 2000. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 44 patients were included who presented at ENT department with the diagnosis of ototoxicity. The diagnosis was established in each case by taking detailed history, through ENT examination and related investigations. All these patients were followed up regularly for a maximum of six months. RESULTS: Out of 44 patients, 32 were male and 12 were female patients with mean age of 42.2 years. Majority of the patients had some form of cochleotoxicity with symptoms of deafness in 95.4% and tinnitus in 36.6% of the cases. Vestibular toxicity with symptoms of vertigo and sense of imbalance were presented in 29.5% of the cases. 26 patients received only one ototoxic drug while 18 patients had received more than one ototoxic drug at one time. Gentamycin was the commonest offending agent for ototoxicity in 40.9% of the cases. In this study no patient of ototoxicity was found due to macrolide antibiotics, salicylates or any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Sensori-neural hearing loss in majority of the patients was moderate to severe in nature.

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