Background: Postauricular steroid administration has been popular for treating sudden sensorineural hearing loss. However, there are few reports on its use in patients with refractory sudden sensorineural hearing loss (RSSNHL).
Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of postauricular steroid injection as a salvage treatment for RSSNHL patients.
Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 63 RSSNHL patients between January 2016 and January 2019. Thirty-three patients of them who have been divided into the treatment group received postauricular methylprednisolone sodium succinate injection. The remaining 30 patients who formed the control group did not receive any steroid as a salvage therapy. Improvements in hearing were evaluated between pre-salvage therapy and 3 months follow-up after salvage therapy.
Results: The median hearing gain in PTA was 9.88 dB HL (quartile range 7.58, 18.65) in the treatment group and 0.90 dB HL (quartile range 0.00, 4.90) in the control group (P<0.01). According to the criteria of Furuhashi, the total percentage for effective prognosis was 48.48% (16/33) in the treatment group and 10.00% (3/30) in the control group (P<0.01). The time interval from onset to study entry was significantly and independently associated with the prognosis for RSSNHL patients (P< 0.01).
Conclusions: The present findings suggest that postauricular corticosteroid administration as a salvage treatment demonstrated better results than no treatment for RSSNHL patients. The time interval from onset to study entry was mainly the prognostic factor for RSSNHL patients. It is therefore considered that postauricular corticosteroid administration may be used as a salvage therapy for RSSNHL patients.
Keywords: Methylprednisolone sodium succinate; Postauricular injection; Refractory sudden sensorineural hearing loss (RSSNHL); Salvage treatment.
© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.