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Potential benefits of salvage intratympanic dexamethasone injection in profound idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Letter to the Editor to this article was published on 25 August 2020

Abstract

Purposes

To compare hearing recovery levels after initial treatment or salvage intratympanic dexamethasone injection (ITDI), and to find the prognostic factor on salvage ITDI therapy in profound ISSNHL.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 115 patients with profound ISSNHL. All patients were treated with combination or systemic steroid therapy as the initial treatment. Next, we used salvage ITDI therapy on patients who showed slight or no improvement according to Siegel’s criteria. To find the prognostic factors for the effectiveness of salvage ITDI therapy, we analyzed clinical data, such as, age, sex, vertigo, symptom duration, diabetes, hypertension, initial PTA, pre-salvage PTA, and treatment methods, using multiple regression analyses.

Results

The rate of serviceable hearing recovery were 10.4% (12/115) in the initial-treatment group and 20.4% (21/103) in the salvage group. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.041). Pre-salvage PTA, diabetes mellitus, and symptom duration were affective factors for the effectiveness of salvage ITDI therapy in profound ISSNHL refractory to initial treatment, with odds ratios of 1.169 (95% confidence interval, 1.088–1.256), 0.069 (95% confidence interval, 0.005–0.889), and 9.242 (95% confidence interval, 1.079–79.146).

Conclusions

Salvage therapy should be considered for profound ISSNHL, which is expected to result in poor prognosis or hearing recovery: ITSI therapy might be an effective treatment as salvage therapy.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Soonchunhyang University Research Fund.

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Author notes

  1. Jin Woong Choi and Chi Kyou Lee have contributed equally to this study.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

    Jin Woong Choi

  2. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, Republic of Korea

    Chi Kyou Lee, Sang Bin Kim, Dong Yun Lee, Sung Chul Ko, Kye Hoon Park & Seong Jun Choi

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  1. Jin Woong Choi
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Correspondence to Seong Jun Choi.

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The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Soonchunhyang University Hospital.

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Choi, J.W., Lee, C.K., Kim, S.B. et al. Potential benefits of salvage intratympanic dexamethasone injection in profound idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 277, 2219–2227 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-020-05967-z

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