Sodium enoxaparin for treatment of immune-mediated sensorineural hearing loss (imsnhl)
Abstract
The literature does not report others therapeutic protocols for immune-mediated sensorineural hearing loss (IMSNHL) treatment with sodium enoxaparin or other kinds of unfractionated heparin: our decision to use enoxaparin was based both on the pathogenesis of this condition and on evaluation of the other classes of drugs currently used.
Fifty patients, who had suffered from IMSNHL, have been analyzed. These were randomly assigned to two groups: in the first group enoxaparin was administered subcutaneously at a dose of 2000 I.U. twice a day for 10 days while the second group (control) received a placebo. Every day all patients underwent the following instrumental examinations: liminar tonal audiometry; otoacoustic emission; otoacoustic products of distortion. Blood tests where performed at the beginning and at the end of the treatment. Specifically excluded were patients with abnormal known coagulation.
On discharge, the 88% of patients treated with enoxaparin presented a subjective abatement of tinnitus and the 75% of the patients an hearing improved. No patient experienced side effects from this treatment.
The low number of patients suggests further studies to confirm the first data that we obtained but this kind of therapy appears to give encouraging results in the treatment and diagnosis of IMSNHL.
