Triple semicircular canal plugging effective for vertigo control in Meniere disease

Triple semicircular canal plugging (TSCP) is effective for vertigo control but is associated with a risk for hearing loss in patients with Meniere disease (MD), according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published online Dec. 5 in PLOS ONE.

Jia quan Zhu, from Fengdu General Hospital in Chongqing, China, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis involving 367 patients with MD from seven studies to examine the effects of TSCP on hearing. The studies reported on duration, follow-up time, hearing loss, and vertigo control outcomes in patients with MD.

The researchers found that TSCP efficiently alleviated vertigo with a rate of 99 percent and yielded a rate of hearing loss of 22 percent. In a subgroup analysis, for hearing loss, 14 and 24 percent of patients had disease duration of more than or less than 12 months, respectively. The corresponding rates of vertigo control were 100.0 and 99.0 percent. Hearing loss rates were 23 and 20 percent in studies with follow-up time of more than or less than 24 months, respectively. The corresponding rates for vertigo control were 99.0 and 99.0 percent. Disease duration and follow-up time had no significant impact on hearing loss or vertigo control rates.

“In MD patients who have failed to control the symptoms by conventional treatment or nondestructive surgery such as an endolymphatic capsule, TSCP can not only effectively relieve vertigo, but also preserve residual hearing in most patients,” the authors write.

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