Transtympanic Gentamicin Treatment in Meniere’s Disease: A Preliminary Report
Lalida Kasemsuwan MD*, Chanchai Jariengprasert MD*, Supreeya Chaturapatranont MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Otolaryngology, Ramathibodi Hospital
Objective : To evaluate the effectiveness of transtympanic gentamicin treatment in Meniere’s disease.
Materials and Methods : The present study is a prospective study of 8 patients in Ramathibodi Hospital who had
transtympanic gentamicin treatment of Meniere’s disease by fixed dose regimen of 12 injections during a
period of 4 days. The committee on hearing and equilibrium guidelines for reporting treatment results in
Meniere’s disease of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery (1995) were used.
Paired t-test or Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used for statistical comparisons.
Results : Among 8 patients, there were 2 males and 6 females. All patients (100%) had either complete (37.5%)
or substantial (62.5%) control of vertigo. Disability was also improved in all of the subjects (100%). Tinnitus
was improved in 62.5%. Their tinnitus score and functional level scale were much improved with statistical
significance (p = 0.001, p < 0.005, respectively). Hearing was unchanged in 87.5% and slightly worse in
12.5%. This was not significant.
Conclusion : Transtympanic gentamicin treatment was found to be an effective treatment option for patients
with disabling or intractable Meniere’s disease, with a low incidence of hearing loss. The use of this method
appears to be practical and may replace the vestibular surgery.
Keywords : Meniere’s disease, Vertigo, Tinnitus, Pure tone average, functional level scale, Transtympanic gentamicin
