1. The effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the final outcome of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
- Author
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Dova S, Psillas G, Tsaligopoulos M, Nikolaidis V, Stefanidou S, Karagiannis G, Kotsiou M, Kaltzidis T, and Markou K
- Subjects
- Dexamethasone therapeutic use, Humans, Prospective Studies, Treatment Outcome, Hearing Loss, Sensorineural therapy, Hearing Loss, Sudden therapy, Hyperbaric Oxygenation
- Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of the combination of systemic steroids (SS) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL)., Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss were allocated into 2 groups: the control group received Dexamethasone IV (SS) and the therapy group received Dexamethasone IV combined with 15 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (SS + HBOT) as initial treatment. Hearing assessment was performed at the admission to hospital and 3 months after the onset of treatment. Siegel's criteria were used to evaluate the hearing outcomes. Prognostic factors were identified by linear regression analyses., Results: Hearing improvement rate was 64 % in the therapy group and 56 % in the control group, difference which was not statistically significant (p = 0.369). Furthermore, when patients of each group were categorized into 5 subgroups by disease severity (mild, moderate, moderate to severe, severe, profound), differences in treatment outcome between the subgroups of the same severity were not significant. A descending type audiogram curve was proven an unfavorable prognostic factor in both groups, as it led to a significantly lower hearing gain (30 dB) compared to other curve shapes (b = -29.10, 95 % CI = -56.39, -1.82)., Conclusions: The addition of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to systemic steroids caused no significant hearing improvement, despite a mild tendency toward a greater improvement rate within the combination group. More prospective randomized trials with larger series of patients could shed even more light on the effectiveness of combination therapy (SS + HBOT) in patients affected by SSNHL., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
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