• Gang Ren, Jue Xu, Longjiang Lan, Bingliang Ma, and Qi Zhang.
• Department of Otolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou University, the First People's Hospital of Huzhou, Huzhou, 313000, Zhejiang, China.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2021 Aug 1; 190 (3): 1165-1172.

BackgroundPostauricular 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).AimsThe objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of postauricular steroid injection as a salvage treatment for RSSNHL patients.MethodsThis 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.ResultsThe 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).ConclusionsThe 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.© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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