Therapeutic effect of lipoprostaglandin E1 on sudden hearing loss

Purpose: The authors conducted a prospective, comparative clinical trial for the purpose of additional effect of lipoprostaglandin E-1 (lipo-PGE(1)) on sudden hearing loss. Materials and methods: With the approval of the institute ethics committee, a total of 128 consecutive patients with diagnoses of sudden hearing loss were included in the study. The patients in the lipo-PGE(1) group received continuous infusion of 10 mu L lipo-PGE(1) and 48 mg methylprednisolone for 5 days, and the patient in the control group were treated with only 48 mg methylprednisolone. Results: The total recovery rate after the treatment was 67.2%. There were 70.5% recovery rate in lipo-PGE(1) group and 60.5% recovery rate in control group. However, no significant differences were observed in the improvements of pure tone average and subjective symptoms between the lipo-PGE(1) and control groups. Conclusion: The results failed to prove a beneficial effect of lipo-PGE(1) in the treatment of sudden hearing loss in spite of its higher cure rate. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.