The Laryngoscope
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Pain in the ear is a common complaint for which patients consult their otolaryngologist. A rare cause is geniculate neuralgia, which has also been called tic douloureux of the nervus intermedius. In its most typical form, it is characterized by severe paroxysmal neuralgic pain centered directly in the ear. ⋯ Afferent sensory facial nerve fibers are shown to pass not only through the nervus intermedius, but also through the main motor trunk of the facial nerve. Excision of the nervus intermedius and/or of the geniculate ganglion by the middle cranial fossa approach without the production of facial paralysis, in any of 15 cases with geniculate neuralgia is reported. Use of these new techniques, sometimes in combination with selective section of the Vth cranial nerve, has been successful in relieving the pain of geniculate neuralgia.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Effects of droperidol in management of vestibular disorders.
The chemo-therapy of vestibular disease has involved a wide spectrum of pharmacological agents insofar as their mode of action is concerned. In our experience, however, droperidol is one pharmaceutical agent which is remarkably effective in depressing vestibular disturbance regardless of etiology. This medication (also called Inapsine) belongs to a relatively new class of compounds known as butyrophenones and its pharmacological action can best be described as a dopa blocking agent. ⋯ This therapy clearly provided the statistically significant response (p less than 0.1, Fisher's Exact Test). This was particularly apparent at the 60-minute evaluation point. While some of the patients receiving Inapsine had recovered earlier, by 60 minutes none of the placebo patients but all of the Inapsine patients had recovered from the vestibular symptoms of Ménière's disease...