August 2003 - It seems that we haven't heard the last
word on the connection between cochlear implants and meningitis. Here's
the latest from the CDC.
February 2006 -
The FDA has just issued a notice that warning that children who received
a cochlear implant with a positioner are continue to be at increased
meningitis risk beyond 24 months after implantation. Here's
the information.
March 2006 - Risks
Fall, Hopes Rise for Hearing Implants
April 2007 - CI
Increases Meningitis Risk
October 2007 - Advice for Patients with Cochlear
Implants: New Information on Meningitis Risk
October 2007 - Advanced
Bionics Announces Meningitis Vaccination Reimbursement and Incentive
Program
December 2007 - Preventing Meningitis in
Children with Cochlear Implants
June 2008 -
Researcher Discovers Reason CI Can Increase Meningitis
Risk
December 2008 -
Magnetic Imaging Machines May Damage Cochlear Implants
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A
few years ago, when an exceptionally high incidence of meningitis was
found in deaf children who had cochlear implants, it revived early fears
about the devices. [. . . ] A study of more than 4,000 children with
cochlear implants published last month in Pediatrics confirmed that the
increased risk had mostly been borne by children with an implant type
that was no longer on the market. The implant used a positioner to hold
the device closer to the auditory nerve, and it is thought that this
positioner may form a seal that encourages bacterial growth. Full
Story
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June 2008
The puzzle of why people with cochlear implants are
more susceptible to meningitis has been discovered by a Victorian
researcher. The brain is an incredibly fragile organ. Evolution certainly
thinks so -- it has surrounded this mass of nerves and cells with a solid
case of bone to guard against physical trauma, and lined its blood vessels
with an almost impermeable membrane to guard against chemical and biological
threats. As long as these defences remain unbreached, the brain is
relatively safe. But sometimes they have to be breached. Cochlear implants
bypass damaged hearing systems to directly stimulate the auditory nerves,
but to enable this, surgeons must drill through the bone and implant
electrodes deep within the inner ear, where they come into direct contact
with the nerves.
Full Story
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December 2008
Patients with cochlear implants may want to steer
clear of certain magnetic imaging devices, such as 3T MRI machines, because
the machines can demagnetize the patient's implant, according to new
research published in the December 2008 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and
Neck Surgery. . . . . The study, conducted by a
team of German reasearchers from the
International Neuroscience Institute, Hannover, and the Medical University
of Hannover, and American researchers from Vanderbilt University, Nashvill,
Tenn,tested several cochlear device magnets on a 3T MRI scanner with
active shielding at a variety of angles (0º, 80º, 90º, 100º, 110º, and
180º). The researchers discovered that during routine use of 3T MRI machines
at angles above 80º, an unacceptable level of demagnetization was reached,
causing permanent damage to devices with non-removable magnets, and creating
the potential of exposing patients to undesirable magnetic forces.
Full Story
