Comparison of hydroxyethyl starch and dextran in the treatment of sudden deafness of vascular origin
Abstract
Objective/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of hydroxyethyl starch (HES 200) in the treatment of sudden deafness of vascular origin, and compare it with that of dextran 40.
Study Design: Prospective study
Methods: Ten patients with sudden deafness of vascular origin undergoing HES 200 therapy with the treatment program as HES 500 mL once daily for day 1, then 500 mL twice daily for days 2-4. Another 10 patients with age-, sex-, and mean hearing level-matched treated by dextran were selected for comparison. The treatment program of dextran was similar to that of HES. Then, outcome of hearing loss between two groups was compared.
Results: In HES group, outcome of the hearing loss consisted of cured in 4 patients, marked recovery in 3, slight recovery in 2, and unchanged in 1. Restated, the occurrence of hearing recovery was 90%. In contrast to the dextran group, cured in 3 patients, marked recovery in 3, slight recovery in 2, and unchanged in 2, that is 80% occurrence of hearing recovery, exhibiting a non-significant difference between two groups. The HES group has mean hearing gain as 36.9 + 12.7 dB, and mean percent recovery 74.5 + 25.4%, compared to 36.3 + 20.2 dB, and 61.2 + 28.8% in dextran group, respectively, both groups did not differ significantly.
Conclusions: We recommend using 10% HES 200 with a total dosage of 3.5L within 4 days in the treatment of sudden deafness of vascular origin, and recovery of hearing without complication can be anticipated.
