USE OF TRANSIENT EVOKED OTOACOUSTIC EMISSIONS TO DETECT AND MONITOR COCHLEAR DAMAGE CAUSED BY PLATINUM-CONTAINING DRUGS

Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) have been evaluated as a means of monitoring cochlear function in patients receiving the chem otherapeutic agents cisplatin and carboplatin (-cis-diammine, 1,1-cycl obutane dicarboxylate (2) -0, 0-platinum). Patients receiving these dr ugs were monitored prospectively with pure tone audiometry (PTA), tymp anometry and TEOAE. Data was collected on 22 subjects receiving cispla tin and nine subjects receiving carboplatin. Significant deterioration in both PTA thresholds and TEOAE energy levels (with no change in tym panometry) were detected in the cisplatin group. No significant deteri oration in audiological parameters occurred in the carboplatin group. It is indicated that cisplatin has a significant ototoxic effect in th e majority of patients, whereas any ototoxic effect of carboplatin was undetectable. Our findings were different from previous studies in th at the measurable changes in TEOAE occurred later than changes in the pure tone audiogram for the cisplatin group.