Prevalence and Manifestation of Ototoxic Medications Among the Adult Attendees of The Audiovestibular unit at Al-Zahraa University Hospital, Cairo, Egypt

Background: Hearing loss is considered to be one of the most common factors of moderate to severe disability specially in the developing countries. Ototoxicity is inner ear damage due to usage of chemical substances, which can lead to either reversable or permanent hearing loss and/or vestibular loss. Ototoxic hearing impairment can impact the quality of life by many ways; therefore, we should be very careful when it comes to choose drug therapy to minimize the risk.  Aim of the work:To identify the commonly implicated ototoxic medications among the adult Egyptian population and to study its presenting features. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study, that involved review for the medical notes of all adult patients, who attended the Audio-Vestibular Unit with otological problems between January 2014 and December 2018. A total of 1110 medical folders were reviewed, and data were manually extracted. Results: The prevalence of ototoxic medication among the adult attendees was 26.6%. The most common manifestation was hearing impairment, as it was reported in 83.2% of the cases. Tinnitus came second by 70% followed by vertigo in 31%. Aspirin was the most common drug used [44.7%] of the patients, followed by aminoglycoside in 15% of our study sample, then the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) in 14.3%. Conclusion: Audiometric screening is critical to capture the true prevalence of hearing loss. Baseline audiometric and vestibular function test should be performed before prescribing any ototoxic medication especially in patients with other associated risk factors