Is pre-operative audiometry a reliable predictor of ossicular chain condition?

Objective: Investigation of ossicular chain (OC) status before surgery is important for preoperative patient consultation. This research aimed to investigate the relationship between pre-operative audiometric values and intra-operative OC condition in a relatively large population of chronic otitis...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

Objective: Investigation of ossicular chain (OC) status before surgery is important for preoperative patient consultation. This research aimed to investigate the relationship between pre-operative audiometric values and intra-operative OC condition in a relatively large population of chronic otitis media (COM) surgeries.Methods: In this descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study, we evaluated 694 patients who underwent COM surgeries. We analyzed pre-operative audiometric data and intraoperative findings including ossicular anatomy, ossicular mobility, and the condition of middle ear mucosa.Results: The optimal cut-off values of pre-operative speech reception threshold (SRT), mean air-conduction (AC), and mean air-bone gap (ABG) for predicting OC discontinuity were 37.5 dB, 37.2 dB, and 28.4 dB, respectively. For the prediction of OC fixation, the optimal cut-off points of SRT, mean AC, and mean ABG were 37.5 dB, 40.3 dB, and 32.8 dB, respectively.Conclusions: The results supported the view that pre-operative hearing is a key determining factor for the prediction of OC status. Ausführliche Beschreibung