当院における聴神経腫瘍の診断と診療科の検討

Contribution of Otologists in Diagnosis of Acoustic Neuroma Patients

　はじめに

　聴神経腫瘍は蝸牛・前庭神経症状で初発することが多いことから，ほとんどの症例は耳鼻咽喉科を初診するとされるが，耳鼻咽喉科で診断されることはさほど多くはないといわれてきた^1）。近年の耳鼻咽喉科医の聴神経腫瘍に対する関心の高まりとMRIの進歩と普及に伴う耳鼻咽喉科医の聴神経腫瘍診断における役割について，自験例を基に検討を加えたので報告する。

The clinical records of 144 cases of acoustic neuromas examined at the Hokkaido University Hospi-tal from 1988 to 1999 were reviewed.

The majority of patients had visited an otological clinic.

However, sixty-one percent of the patients were diagnosed by otolaryngologists, though 39% were diagnosed by neurosurgeons or others.

The patients diagnosed by otolaryngologists were having a tumor smaller in size, less hearing impair-ment than those who were diagnosed by others.