耳管開放症患者における不安・抑うつ傾向の検討

抄録

Patulous eustachian tubes are associated with symptoms such as aural fullness, and voice and breath autophony, which are very distressing symptoms for patients. Many patients with a patulous eustachian tube are also reported as being mentally unstable. We conducted a questionnaire survey to clarify the psychological profiles of patients with patulous eustachian tubes, and report the results with a review of the literature. A total of 103 patients who visited our outpatient clinic were assessed by the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The median scores at the initial diagnosis were PHI10 26 (20–32), SDS 45 (39–55), STAI state anxiety 50 (43–57), and trait anxiety 48 (44–56). The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient for PHI10 and SDS was 0.457 (p value 0.00161), that for PHI10 and STAI state anxiety was 0.457 (p value 0.00143), and that for PHI10 and characteristic anxiety was 0.487 (p value 0.000608), all representing significant correlations. The PHI10 improved in 73.1% of the 26 patients who required follow-up visits after the treatment. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant difference in the change of the PHI10 between the group of patients with very severe depression and those with STAI characteristic anxiety on SDS. The subjective symptoms were significantly improved with lower SDS values. There have been several reports on the relationship between a patulous eustachian tube and anxiety and depressive tendencies. The present study suggests that patients with high levels of depression and trait anxiety may be resistant to treatment and may have difficulty in receiving the usual treatments, suggesting the need for considering the psychological aspects of the disease.