Desferrioxamine-induced ototoxicity in haemodialyzed patients

Forty uremic patients on regular hemodialysis for 44.2 +/- 19.8 months were followed up audiometrically for ototoxicity of desferrioxamine [DFO] which was taken for the treatment of aluminum toxicity. The hearing threshold, especially at frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz and the speech reaction threshold were significantly increased, while the speech discrimination score was significantly decreased. On the other hand, the percentages of tinnitus and vertigo were insignificantly increased after DFO. It is concluded that DFO may precipitate sensorineural hearing loss that was found to be dose dependent. Thus regular audiometric examination has to be considered in hemodialyzed patients receiving DFO for early detection of its ototoxicity