Bhattacharyya Neil
Division of Otolaryngology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Otology and Laryngology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec. 2004 Jul-Aug;66(4):214-20. doi: 10.1159/000079880.
Among the otolaryngologic subspecialties, otology has historically been at the forefront of outcomes research in our specialty. Many traditional outcomes reporting tools have been consistently employed in the study of otologic disease and treatment outcomes including standardized reporting schemes for Meniere's disease and facial nerve dysfunction. However, recent interest has surfaced in disease-specific quality-of-life outcomes measures for many otologic diseases such as sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss and suppurative otitis media. Several reliable and validated outcomes tools are available for the assessment of the impact on quality of life and treatment outcomes for common otologic afflictions that carry with them significant quality-of-life burdens. Furthermore, similar outcomes tools have been developed that allow a scientific appraisal of disease status and quality of life for dizziness and tinnitus, which have been traditionally difficult to quantify. Increasing familiarity with these outcomes tools will allow investigators to accurately assess and compare treatments for these otologic diseases and justify treatment initiatives in the future.
在耳鼻喉科亚专业中，耳科学在历史上一直处于我们专业成果研究的前沿。许多传统的成果报告工具一直被持续用于耳科疾病及治疗效果的研究，包括梅尼埃病和面神经功能障碍的标准化报告方案。然而，最近人们开始关注许多耳科疾病的特定疾病生活质量成果指标，如感音神经性听力损失、传导性听力损失和化脓性中耳炎。有几种可靠且经过验证的成果工具可用于评估常见耳科疾病对生活质量和治疗效果的影响，这些疾病给患者带来了显著的生活质量负担。此外，还开发了类似的成果工具，可对头晕和耳鸣的疾病状态和生活质量进行科学评估，而这些症状传统上难以量化。对这些成果工具的日益熟悉将使研究人员能够准确评估和比较这些耳科疾病的治疗方法，并为未来的治疗方案提供依据。
