Are diuretics effective for Ménière`s disease?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Ménière`s disease is an inner ear disorder characterized by episodes of spontaneous vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss and tinnitus. Diuretics have been widely used for the treatment of attacks, but there is controversy about their effectiveness.

METHODS:

To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, conducted a meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:

We identified three systematic reviews including nineteen studies overall, of which four were randomized trials. We concluded it is not clear whether diuretics lead to a symptomatic improvement of vertigo or an objective decrease in hearing loss in patients with Ménière`s disease, because the certainty of the evidence is very low.

• Authors: Andrés Rosenbaum, Matías Winter
• Journal: Medwave (Medwave) Vol. 18 Issue 2 Pg. e7188 (Mar 28 2018) ISSN: 0717-6384 [Electronic] Chile
• Vernacular Title: ¿Son efectivos los diuréticos en la enfermedad de Ménière?
• PMID: 29624570 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis)

Chemical References

• Diuretics

Topics

• Databases, Factual
• Diuretics (therapeutic use)
• Hearing Loss (drug therapy, etiology)
• Humans
• Meniere Disease (drug therapy, physiopathology)
• Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
• Tinnitus (drug therapy, etiology)
• Treatment Outcome
• Vertigo (drug therapy, etiology)