Skull Base 2006; 16 - A025
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-958559

Otoacoustic Emissions in the Diagnosis of the Ototoxic Effects of Cisplatin and Carboplatin

Maria Riga 1, Stavros Korres 1, Ioannis Yiotakis 1, John Xenelis 1 Sotiris Papouliakos 1(presenter), Dimitrios Kandiloros 1, George Korres 1, Eleftherios Ferekidis 1
  • 1Athens, Greece

Aim: Sensorineural hearing loss may have a great impact on the quality of life, emotional development, and rehabilitation of children who have undergone chemotherapy. This study was aimed at determining the possible contribution of transient evoked and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs and DPOAEs) in the early diagnosis of the ototoxic damage caused by cisplatin and carboplatin in a pediatric population.

Material: Children who underwent chemotherapy with a small cumulative dose of cisplatin (120 or 160 mg/m2, n = 12) and children who had received carboplatin (600 mg/m2 × 6, n = 11).

Method: Audiologic evaluation included immitance measurements, pure tone audiogram, extended high-frequency audiometry, TEOAEs, and DPOAEs.

Results: For our cisplatin group, extended high-frequency audiometry recordings revealed a statistically significant decrease of hearing acuity at 10,000 Hz (p < 0.04), 12,500 Hz (p < 0.001), and 16,000 Hz (p < 0.001). DPOAEs amplitudes in the same group demonstrated significant decrease at 3369 to 6299 Hz and TEOAEs showed significant decrease only at the mean TEOAEs response, whereas analysis by frequency attributed no significant differences. In the carboplatin group no significant differences were observed in otoacoustic emissions amplitudes (OAEs).

Conclusion: OAEs and preferably DPOAEs are simple noninvasive methods that may help evaluate ototoxic damage induced by cisplatin in children who are too young or in too-poor general health to cooperate properly for an extended high-frequency audiogram. As far as carboplatin is concerned, OAEs offer no help in early detection of ototoxic damage, probably because the main first site of carboplatin's action is inner hair cells.