Recovery of Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to identify and evaluate factors that may influence the recovery rate in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss between 2009 and 2013. Those with an identified etiology were excluded. The patients were divided into four treatment groups: (i) systemic corticosteroids (SC) only, (ii) SC+low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), (iii) SC+hyperbaric oxygen (HBO), and (iv) SC+LMWH+HBO. Recovery was evaluated according to Siegel's criteria. Age, initial hearing level, onset, treatment and audiogram types, comorbidities, and associated tinnitus and vestibular symptoms were investigated for their impact on prognosis. RESULTS: Two hundred five patients with ISSNHL were included. Recovery was seen in 59% of the patients. The complete recovery rate was significantly lower in patients older than 60 years and in patients presenting with profound hearing loss. Different audiogram curves had no significant effect on recovery. Sudden hearing loss was accompanied by tinnitus in 107 (52.1%) patients and vestibular symptoms in 55 (26.8%); however, neither was noted to affect prognosis. Different treatment combinations did not significantly affect prognosis. However, hypertension and a delay in treatment by more than 10 days from the onset of hearing loss were associated with a worse prognosis. CONCLUSION: Profound hearing loss, older than 60 years, a delay in treatment by more than 10 days, and hypertension were negative prognostic factors in this study, whereas, the type of audiogram curve and addition of HBO to SC did not affect prognosis.

[Ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias under guidance of noncontact mapping system]. / Sag ventrikül çikis yolu tasikardilerinin temassiz haritalama sistemi kilavuzlugunda ablasyonu.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the efficiency of noncontact mapping, a new mapping technique, for the catheter ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias. STUDY DESIGN: The study included 13 symptomatic patients (4 males, 9 females; mean age 39+/-15 years) with a structurally normal heart, who had sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) or nonsustained VT with ventricular premature beats (VPB), all arising from the right ventricular outflow tract. For noncontact mapping-guided (EnSite) ablation, first right ventricular geometry was reconstructed. Then, voltage maps of the right ventricle were obtained during sinus rhythm and tachycardia (or ectopic) beats. Index arrhythmia was induced in the form of sustained VT in three patients, and nonsustained VT or VPB in 10 patients. Radiofrequency was applied to endocardial foci of tachycardia beats using a standard, 4-mm ablation catheter. RESULTS: The endocardial breakthrough sites of the beats were the posterior septum in seven patients, anterior septum in four patients, and posterior free wall in two patients. A mean of 25 (range 7 to 45) radiofrequency current deliveries were applied to the target sites. The mean procedure time was 190 minutes. Index arrhythmia was eliminated in 10 patients after the procedure. No serious complications occurred during or after the procedure. CONCLUSION: Our experience with radiofrequency ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias under noncontact mapping guidance shows that this procedure can be performed efficiently and safely in our country.

[Ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia using a new, simplified technique for three-dimensional mapping: a case report]. / Sag ventrikül çikis yolu tasikardisinin yeni ve basitlestirilmis üçboyutlu haritalama teknigi ile ablasyonu: olgu sunumu.

Right ventricular outflow tract tachycardias comprise a subgroup of idiopathic ventricular tachycardias that occur in the absence of structural heart disease. Twelve-lead surface electrocardiography shows a left bundle branch block morphology and an inferiorly-oriented frontal axis during tachycardia. Non-sustained nature of arrhythmia and structure of the outflow tract makes catheter ablation of focal arrhythmia origin difficult. Herein, we presented ablation of right ventricular outflow tract tachycardia in a 32-year-old male patient using a new, simplified technique, described by Saleem et al., for three-dimensional mapping of the outflow tract. The patient was admitted with tachycardia of left bundle branch block with inferior axis morphology. In this technique, a spiral multipolar catheter was positioned in the right ventricular outflow tract and served as a guide for mapping and ablation. The patient was asymptomatic in the first and third months of the procedure.