Intratympanic dexamethasone delivery versus placebo in Intractable Meniere Disease

Intratympanic dexamethasone delivery versus placebo in Intractable Meniere Disease
Borghei P, Emami H, Amirzargar B
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objective: Numerous treatments strategies was used for Meniere disease (MD). In this study we aimed to compare efficacy of intratympanic dexamethasone delivery versus intratympanic placebo in Intractable MD.

Methods: This was a single blinded randomized clinical trial. All patients with Intractable Meniere disease underwent Ventilation Tube insertion into tympanic membrane and were randomly allocated to two groups of 18-patients. Patients of the first group used dexamethasone base drop (placebo) every other day, the second group used dexamethasone drop for 3 months and all patients were followed for 12 months .

Results: Control of vertigo and tinnitus with dexamethasone was more than the placebo but there was no statistically significance difference between two groups
(all p>0.05). Hearing function improvement and aural fullness resolution was higher in placebo group, but there was no statistically significance difference, too. Vertigo
control in Dexamethasone group in our study ranged from 72.2% to 83.3% of patients at different intervals. These figures ranged from 66.6% to 83.3% in placebo group. The highest rate of hearing function improvement in our study was 27.7% in placebo group. Tinnitus also followed the same pattern as hearing function.
Conclusion:Intratympanic dexamethasone did not improve symptoms of MD more than placebo.