Prevalence of Meniere disease in Finland.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of Meniere disease in the population of 5 million in Finland according to the criteria of the Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) recommendation. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective investigation based on patient records of 306 patients treated for Meniere disease and recognized as such according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-9 or ICD-10) in seven Finnish hospitals serving a population of 1.5 million people. METHODS: Patients were selected from the computerized patient registers of outpatients and inpatients having received an appropriate diagnosis during the period from 1992 to 1996 and re-evaluated. Definite cases according to AAO-HNS guidelines were identified to calculate the prevalence of Meniere disease in Finland at the end of 1996. RESULTS: A total of 131 definite cases of Meniere disease were identified. The prevalence of at least 43 per 100,000 and an average annual incidence of 4.3 per 100,000 were obtained. The prevalence turned out to be higher (P<.001) in Northern areas (49/100,000) than in the south (38/100,000). The prevalence did not differ in the areas of university hospitals (44/100,000) from those of central hospitals (42/100,000). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence and incidence in Finland is lower than could be expected from previous international surveys, most of which provide inadequate data for forming a real picture of the epidemiology of Meniere disease. Uniform diagnostic criteria are indispensable for further research.

A comparison of the soft gelatin capsule and the tablet form of temazepam.

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the soft gelatin capsule and tablet form of temazepam were compared. In a single blind study, six healthy volunteers, in the supine position, took either a tablet of temazepam 20 mg or a soft gelatin capsule of temazepam 20 mg. Sixty gynaecological in-patients received either a tablet or a soft gelatin capsule of temazepam 20 mg the night before surgery as premedication. Subjective parameters were assessed in the morning. The soft gelatin capsule yielded clearly higher serum concentrations during the first hour after administration. In the pharmacodynamic parameters there were slight but insignificant differences in favour of the capsule form. As a premedicant the capsule resulted in a significantly (P less than 0.01) shorter delay in the onset of sedative action and to an almost significant (P less than 0.05) delay in falling asleep; also an almost significantly (P less than 0.05) longer action of sleep in comparison with the tablet.

The pre- and postoperative ENG findings in clinical otosclerosis and the late hearing results.

125 patients suffering from otosclerosis underwent oto-neurological investigations preoperatively and again daily from the second to sixth day postoperatively. An abnormal ENG in the form of a spontaneous or positional nystagmus, directional preponderance or a diminished caloric reaction could be found preoperatively in 30% of the patients. No statistically significant difference between patients with or without abnormal ENG findings could be shown in the late postoperative hearing results of 3 years in a series of different types of operations. Nearly half of the patients had postoperative nystagmus. On the second day nystagmus beat towards the operated ear in 22.3% of the patients. On the sixth day there was nystagmus only in one-third of the patients and it then beat towards towards the operated ear in only 12.1% of the patients and away from the operated ear in 12.6%. No statistically significant correlation could be found between the nystagmus findings and the late hearing results after 3 years' observation in this series of different types of operation.