Brain Morphological Modifications in Congenital and Acquired Auditory Deprivation: A Systematic Review and Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis

Neuroplasticity following deafness has been widely demonstrated in both humans and animals, but the anatomical substrate of these changes is not yet clear in human brain. However, it is of high importance since hearing loss is a growing problem due to aging population. Moreover, knowing these brain changes could help to understand some disappointing results with cochlear implant, and therefore could improve hearing rehabilitation. A systematic review and a coordinate-based meta-analysis were realized about the morphological brain changes highlighted by MRI in severe to profound hearing loss, congenital and acquired before or after language onset. 25 papers were included in our review, concerning more than 400 deaf subjects, most of them presenting prelingual deafness. The most consistent finding is a volumetric decrease in white matter around bilateral auditory cortex. This change was confirmed by the coordinate-based meta-analysis which shows three converging clusters in this region. The visual areas of deaf children is also significantly impacted, with a decrease of the volume of both gray and white matters. Finally, deafness is responsible of a gray matter increase within the cerebellum, especially at the right side. These results are largely discussed and compared with those from deaf animal models and blind humans, which demonstrate for example a much more consistent gray matter decrease along their respective primary sensory pathway. In human deafness, a lot of other factors than deafness could interact on the brain plasticity. One of the most important is the use of sign language and its age of acquisition, which induce among others changes within the hand motor region and the visual cortex. But other confounding factors exist which have been too little considered in the current literature, such as the etiology of the hearing impairment, the speech-reading ability, the hearing aid use, the frequent associated vestibular dysfunction or neurocognitive impairment. Another important weakness highlighted by this review concern the lack of papers about postlingual deafness, whereas it represents most of the deaf population. Further studies are needed to better understand these issues, and finally try to improve deafness rehabilitation

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

First 100 stapedotomies of a surgeon: learning curve and functional results

First 100 stapedotomies of a surgeon: learning curve and functional results. Objective: Otosclerosis is a common otologic disease that mostly requires surgical treatment. This study aimed to analyse stapedotomy results and establish a learning curve. Method: This retrospective study analysed the first 100 stapedotomies of a young surgeon. We measured the pre- and postoperative bone conduction (BC), air conduction (AC) threshold, and mean air-bone-gap (ABG) values. The Amsterdam Hearing Evaluation Plots method, proposed previously, was used to represent audiometric results. We also reproduced the learning curve described previously. Results: We identified 9 cases with post-operative complications. No dead ear outcome occurred. BC deterioration appeared in 5 cases, but they were not related to surgeon experience. A post-operative ABG <20 dB was observed in 81% of the operated ears, consistent with results from previous studies on other young surgeons. The stapes surgery learning curve showed 2 peaks with post-operative ABGs <10 dB. However, these results were not sustainable, probably due to the introduction of new devices and the increasing difficulty of the cases. Conclusions: Stapes surgery involves surgical skills that are acquired after training. This learning is facilitated by the use of one single device, rather than several devices. Sufficient patient recruitment is required to preserve expertise

Hydroxychloroquine as Treatment for Inflammatory Subglottic Stenosis: A Second Successful Case

Inflammatory sub-glottic stenosis is a life threatening condition that represents a therapeutic challenge. Recently, hydroxychloroquine has been suggested as one efficient medical treatment option. This report describes the second case of successful treatment of inflammatory sub-glottic stenosis using hydroxychloroquine

Safe explantation of a Vibrant Soundbridge with incus short process coupler: Case report and literature review

We describe the first reported case of explantation of a Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) with the floating mass transducer (FMT) fixed to the incus short process that was implanted 2 years before. The patient had good hearing results on the conversational frequencies but complained about insufficient amplification of low and high frequencies, discomfort, and blurred hearing. Our team along with technical specialists from Med-El analyzed and tried to solve his problems through multiple fitting sessions, computed tomography scan (which was normal), and revision surgery to exclude displacement of the FMT and eliminate excessive fibrosis surrounding it, all without success. Finally, the patient decided to be explanted. We removed the FMT from the short process of the incus without major complications. The hearing thresholds remained globally stable, except at 250 Hz (a decrease of 10 dB). This case is the first description of FMT removal from the short process of the incus as this coupler has only been available since 4 years. We reviewed the literature to look at the reported complications of the VSB and the revision surgery rates, especially when the FMT is fixed on the incus

INNOVATIONS EN OTOLOGIE QUE RETENIR DE 2016 ?

La prise en charge des patients malentendants a connu une grande avancée par le remboursement des implants d’oreille moyenne partiellement implantables. Les patients souffrant d’une perte d’audition neurosensorielle (c’est-à-dire liée à la destruction de l’oreille interne) ne pouvaient bénéficier que d’un appareillage auditif ou d’un implant cochléaire s’ils étaient entièrement sourds. Beaucoup de patients n’étaient pas satisfaits de leurs aides auditives. Les implants d’oreille moyenne partiellement ou même totalement implantables existaient mais ils étaient entièrement à la charge du patient (entre 10.000 et 18.000 euros environ)

Brain Morphological Modifications in Congenital and Acquired Auditory Deprivation:A Systematic Review and Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis

Neuroplasticity following deafness has been widely demonstrated in both humans and animals, but the anatomical substrate of these changes is not yet clear in human brain. However, it is of high importance since hearing loss is a growing problem due to aging population. Moreover, knowing these brain changes could help to understand some disappointing results with cochlear implant, and therefore could improve hearing rehabilitation. A systematic review and a coordinate-based meta-analysis were realized about the morphological brain changes highlighted by MRI in severe to profound hearing loss, congenital and acquired before or after language onset. 25 papers were included in our review, concerning more than 400 deaf subjects, most of them presenting prelingual deafness. The most consistent finding is a volumetric decrease in gray matter around bilateral auditory cortex. This change was confirmed by the coordinate-based meta-analysis which shows three converging clusters in this region. The visual areas of deaf children is also significantly impacted, with a decrease of the volume of both gray and white matters. Finally, deafness is responsible of a gray matter increase within the cerebellum, especially at the right side. These results are largely discussed and compared with those from deaf animal models and blind humans, which demonstrate for example a much more consistent gray matter decrease along their respective primary sensory pathway. In human deafness, a lot of other factors than deafness could interact on the brain plasticity. One of the most important is the use of sign language and its age of acquisition, which induce among others changes within the hand motor region and the visual cortex. But other confounding factors exist which have been too little considered in the current literature, such as the etiology of the hearing impairment, the speech-reading ability, the hearing aid use, the frequent associated vestibular dysfunction or neurocognitive impairment. Another important weakness highlighted by this review concern the lack of papers about postlingual deafness, whereas it represents most of the deaf population. Further studies are needed to better understand these issues, and finally try to improve deafness rehabilitation