Cochlear implantation in patients with Streptococcus suis meningitis: clinical characteristics and postoperative evaluation

Abstract

Background

Hearing loss is a common sequala of Streptococcus suis (S. suis) meningitis, but few have addressed cochlear implantation (CI) candidates with S. suis meningitis.

Objectives

To assess the clinical characteristics and CI postoperative outcomes in S. suis meningitis patients.

Material and methods

Eight S. suis meningitis patients underwent CI at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital between 2020 and 2023. Control groups included (1) non-Suis meningitis patients (n = 12) and (2) non-meningitis patients (n = 35). Electrode impedances and neural response telemetry (NRT) thresholds were recorded at one month after surgery. The auditory performance-II (CAP) and speech intelligibility rating (SIR) were recorded at the last visit.

Results

CAP scores of S. suis meningitis patients were significantly lower than those of non-Suis meningitis and non-meningitis patients (p = .019; p<.001). And NRT thresholds of S. suis meningitis patients were higher than those of non-Suis meningitis and non-meningitis patients (p = .006; p = .027).

Conclusions and significance

It is recommended for S. suis meningitis CI candidates to undergo CI promptly after controlling infection, preferably within four to six weeks. CI users with S. suis meningitis tend to exhibit suboptimal hearing rehabilitation outcomes, possibly associated with the more severe damage on spiral ganglion cells after S. suis meningitis.

Chinese Abstract

背景

听力损失是猪链球菌(S. suis)脑膜炎的常见后遗症, 但很少人探讨猪链球菌脑膜炎患者的人工耳蜗植入(CI)候选人的问题。

目的

评估猪链球菌脑膜炎患者的临床特征和 CI 术后结果。

材料和方法

8 名猪链球菌脑膜炎患者于2020 年至 2023 年间在中山纪念医院接受 CI 治疗。对照组包括 (1) 非 Suis 脑膜炎患者 (n = 12) 和 (2)非脑膜炎患者(n = 35)。 在术后一个月记录了电极阻抗和神经反应遥测 (NRT) 阈值。 在最后一次就诊时记录了听觉表现-II (CAP) 和言语清晰度评级(SIR)。

结果

猪链球菌脑膜炎患者CAP评分显著低于非猪链球菌脑膜炎患者和非脑膜炎患者(p=.019；p<.001)。 猪链球菌脑膜炎患者的 NRT 阈值比非脑膜炎患者和非脑膜炎患者的高(p=.006；p=.027)。

结论及意义

建议猪链球菌脑膜炎患者CI候选人控制感染后立即进行CI手术, 最好在四到六周内。 患有猪链球菌脑膜炎的 CI植入者往往表现出次优的听力康复结果, 这可能与猪链球菌脑膜炎后更严重的螺旋神经节细胞受损有关。

Keywords:

• Streptococcus suis meningitis
• cochlear implantation
• control group
• category of auditory performance
• neural response telemetry

Acknowledgments

We thank the families of patients for their active collaboration and the staff of at our hospital database for its invaluable support. The data collection was finished by Minqian Gao and Xiaying Huang, Xiaotong Huang. The data analysis was finished by Yongkang OU, Xianghui Li. Zhuoyi Chen wrote the first draft of the manuscript and was responsible for all aspects of the work. Yiqing Zheng, Haidi Yang revised the manuscript and approved its final version.

Ethical approval

The authors assert that all procedures were in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant ethical regulations of the ethics committee of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital (SYSKY-2023-003-01).

Consent form

Prior informed consent was obtained from all the subjects participating in the study. Clinical trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2300067633.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

No sources of funding for this research.