Statement of Principles concerning Meniere's disease No. 77 of 2001 (Cth)

Instrument No.77 of 2001

Revocation and Determination

of

Statement of Principles

concerning

MENIERE’S DISEASE

ICD-10-AM CODE: H81.0

Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986

1. The Repatriation Medical Authority under subsection 196B(2) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (the Act):

(a)       revokes Instrument No.27 of 1997; and

(b)       determines in its place the following Statement of Principles.

Kind of injury, disease or death

1. (a)        This Statement of Principles is about Meniere’s disease and death from Meniere’s disease.

(b)For the purposes of this Statement of Principles, “Meniere’s disease” means a clinical condition characterised by recurrent attacks of episodic vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, often associated with nausea and vomiting and a sense of fullness in the involved ear, attracting ICD-10-AM code H81.0.  This definition includes the conditions known as endolymphatic hydrops, delayed endolymphatic hydrops, Meniere’s syndrome and Lermoyez’s syndrome.  Labyrinthitis, vertigo of central origin and other unspecified vertiginous syndromes are excluded from this definition.

Basis for determining the factors

1. After examining the available sound medical-scientific evidence the Repatriation Medical Authority is of the view that there is sound medical-scientific evidence that indicates that the only factor that may be related to the cause of or material contribution to or aggravation of Meniere’s disease or death from Meniere’s disease and which can be related to relevant service is that set out in clause 4.

Factors that must be related to service

1. The factor that must as a minimum exist in relation to the circumstances of a person’s relevant service causing or materially contributing to or aggravating Meniere’s disease or death from Meniere’s disease is inability to obtain appropriate clinical management for Meniere’s disease.

Inclusion of Statements of Principles

1. In this Statement of Principles if a relevant factor applies and that factor includes an injury or disease in respect of which there is a Statement of Principles then the factors in that last mentioned Statement of Principles apply in accordance with the terms of that Statement of Principles.

Other definitions

1. For the purposes of this Statement of Principles:

“death from Meniere’s disease” in relation to a person includes death from a terminal event or condition that was contributed to by the person’s Meniere’s disease;

“ICD-10-AM code” means a number assigned to a particular kind of injury or disease in The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), Second Edition, effective date of 1 July 2000, copyrighted by the National Centre for Classification in Health, Sydney, NSW, and having ISBN 1 86487 271 3;

“relevant service” means:

(a)       operational service; or

(b)       peacekeeping service; or

(c)       hazardous service;

“terminal event” means the proximate or ultimate cause of death and includes:

(a)       pneumonia;

(b)       respiratory failure;

(c)       cardiac arrest;

(d)       circulatory failure; or

(e)       cessation of brain function.

Application

1. This Instrument applies to all matters to which section 120A of the Act applied.

Dated this       Twelfth   day of              September           2001

The Common Seal of the    )

Repatriation Medical Authority                   )

was affixed to this instrument   )

in the presence of:   )

KEN DONALD

CHAIRMAN