A Study to Assess Ototoxicity in Patients Receiving Anti-Tubercular Therapy

To assess the incidence of ototoxicity in patients receiving ATT. To Objectives: To assess the incidence of ototoxicity in patients receiving ATT. To assess the onset of clinical symptoms of ototoxicity with pure tone audiometry findings. To assess whether the ototoxicity is reversible or irreversible. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in 100 patients who were diagnosed with tuberculosis. Follow- up was carried out at intervals of 2 months from the initiation of treatment until it’s completion. After the completion of the treatment, patients identified with ototoxicity were followed up for a year to note PTA. Results: Most common age group affected was 40-49 years of life ( 66.6 %), p value – 0.740 Male: Female ratio is 1.6: 1. Giddiness, Headache, Nystagmus and Tinnitus are present in 20, 25, 7 and 15 patients respectively by the end of 2months during the course of treatment. Decreased hearing is commonly seen by the end of 2nd month, 20 %, which gradually increased to 21 % by end of the course of treatment. On PTA findings 15 Male and 5 female patients had HFL by the end of 2nd month (p value -0.274). On 1-year follow-up 21 patients had irreversible hearing and HFL in the PTA report.