Fausti S A, Henry J A, Schaffer H I, Olson D J, Frey R H, Bagby G C
Department of Veterans Affairs, Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, OR 97207.
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1993 Jun;119(6):661-6. doi: 10.1001/archotol.1993.01880180081015.
Cisplatin can cause irreversible hearing loss initially detectable as impairment of high-frequency hearing with progression to lower frequencies. Many patients receiving cisplatin are too ill to tolerate lengthy audiometric testing. Therefore, a rapid and sensitive high-frequency monitoring strategy to detect cisplatin-induced ototoxicity is needed. Serial conventional (0.25 to 8 kHz) and high-frequency (> or = 8 kHz) threshold monitoring was performed in patients receiving cisplatin, resulting in 84% of ears showing hearing loss, of which 71% were detected first in frequencies of 8 kHz or greater. By analysis according to an individualized, specific high-frequency range, early identification of hearing loss occurred in 94% of ears showing change. This five-frequency procedure is a sensitive detector of ototoxicity and is proposed as an alternative monitoring protocol for patients receiving cisplatin who cannot tolerate extended testing.
