Does evidence-based medicine exist in the treatment of Meniere's disease? A critical review of the last decade of publications

Debate surrounding the need for evidence-based research in all fields of ot olaryngology has recently emerged. A review of English language articles de aling with the treatment of Meniere's disease published from 1989 to 1999 w as performed. The papers were classified according to article type (observa tional studies, non-clinical studies, controlled trials, randomised control led trials) and according to the grade of evidence that was offered. A tota l of 128 publications were reviewed, of which only three were randomised co ntrolled trials and a further three were well-designed controlled studies w ithout randomization. The majority of papers were non-experimental clinical descriptive studies or case series. Data from this review would suggest th at more comprehensive evidence-based studies are required in order to settl e areas of confusion surrounding treatment of this relapsing condition.