Wayne.Roorda@p0.f15.n114.z1.fidonet.org (Wayne Roorda) (01/26/91)
Index Number: 13217
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
* Original: FROM.....Steve Dyer (13/13)
* Original: TO.......All (273/715)
* Forwarded by.......Silver Xpress
* Additional Comments by Wayne Roorda
from: dyer@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer)
Date: 11 Jan 91 05:12:26 GMT
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Message-ID: <5920@spdcc.SPDCC.COM>
Newsgroups: sci.med
Hearken ye to this voice beyond the grave of USENET access.
Those of you familiar with his wry choice of references will
immediately recognize this clipping as coming from Craig Werner,
formerly a regular here on sci.med. He's still at
werner@bio.nlm.nih.gov, but does not have regular access
to netnews. Enjoy.
----------
A couple of weeks ago, I needed to see something in comp.sys.ibm.pc
and couldn't help stealing a peek at sci.med. I noticed that tinnitus was
a subject of discussion. You may want to post the following:
New England J. Medicine (1990) p. 1864.
TINNITUS DUE TO LOW-DOSE AURAL ASPIRIN THERAPY
To the Editor:
Aspirin is a well-known cause of tinnitus. Although disturbing,
this side effect usually disappears when the dose is decreased. We wish
to described a patient in whom even a very low dose of aspirin caused
tinnitus when administered in an unconventional manner.
A 60-year old man with chronic ischemic heart disease was
hospitalized for treatment of congestive heart failure of new onset.
After intensive treatment resulted in marked improvement, the patient
noticed persistent tinnitus in his left ear. Otoscopic examination
revealed that a foreign body was present in the external auditory
canal, partially obstructing it. On close examination of the body after
it had been extracted, it was identified as half of the standard 250-mg
tablet of aspirin that is commonly prescribed in our department
(although it is generally given by mouth) for the prevention and
treatment of ischemic heart disease. A hastily convened inquiry concluded
that the half-tablet had fallen on the patient's pillow while he was
sleeping, and then proceeded to find its way into his ear. Discontinuation
of aspirin administration by the aural route alleviated the patient's
ringing discomfort.
Tinnitus is a common problem and can be very disturbing. In many
casesk despite a concentrated diagnostic effort a treatable cause of
tinnitus cannot be found, and the patient is treated symptomatically.
Although quite rare, a "high local concentration of aspirin" should be
added to the list of disorders in the differential diagnosis of readily
treatable (and preventable) causes of this bothersome malady.
C. Putterman, MD
E. Ben-Chetrit, MD
Hadassah University Hospital
Jerusalem Israel 91120
--
Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
dyer@arktouros.mit.edu, dyer@hstbme.mit.edu
--
Uucp: ..!{decvax,oliveb}!bunker!hcap!hnews!114!15.0!Wayne.Roorda
Internet: Wayne.Roorda@p0.f15.n114.z1.fidonet.org