ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: No consensus has been reached regarding the optimum treatment or factors affecting prognosis in pediatric idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) due to its rarity. In the present study, treatment outcomes and prognostic factors of ISSNHL were investigated in pediatric patients who underwent steroid therapy. SUBJECTS: and Methods: Forty-two patients diagnosed with ISSNHL were enrolled in this retrospective study and compared with 39 normal healthy controls with respect to demography and complete blood cell count test results. In addition, prognosis factors were sought by dividing the 42 ISSNHL patients to 3 groups according to their response to the treatment. RESULTS: Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) value in the ISSNHL group were significantly higher than in the control group. NLR value in the three treatment response groups differed significantly. Early treatment with steroid and accompanying tinnitus were positive prognostic factor for hearing recovery. Other characteristics were not significant. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that good hearing recovery in children may be associated with early time of initial treatment and accompanying tinnitus. Also, NLR value might be useful readily accessible prognostic markers in pediatric ISSNHL patients. Further studies are required to confirm prognostic factors useful to predict prognosis and treat ISSNHL in pediatric patients.
