What Researchers Did
Researchers reported a case of transient, severe sensorineural hearing loss in a 26-year-old woman following angiography with iopamidol.
What They Found
The patient experienced immediate, severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears (no ABR response at 105 dB) after a second injection of iopamidol during vertebral angiography. Her hearing fortunately recovered to a normal conversation level within 24 hours, with the transient loss attributed to cochlear anoxia lasting 10-20 minutes.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian clinicians should be aware of the extremely rare potential for transient severe hearing loss as a complication of iopamidol angiography. Patients undergoing such procedures should be monitored for sudden changes in hearing, though this event is highly uncommon.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection as it is a case report from Japan.
Study Limitations
As a single case report, the findings cannot be generalized to a broader patient population.