Resultados de la implantación coclear en edad pediátrica. Estudio retrospectivo en 72 pacientes

Abstract

Severe to profound grades of the prelocutive auditory deficiency (AD) are considered a disability with significant consequences on intellectual development of children. In this context, early diagnostics and treatment arise as an effective solution. Method: Retrospective, longitudinal analysis of 72 implanted patients, younger than 14 years, and comparison of audiometric parameters before and after surgery, and analysis of verbal development at 2 years after intervention. Results: Post-surgical follow-up showed an audiometric gain at 2 years of 62,79 dB (SD=14,86 dB) (p<0,05); greater results to those obtained with the use of hearing aid. Audiometric improvement had no a statistically significant relationship with the child´s age, unlike with the kind of cochlear implant (CI). Verbal development of the child is inversely proportional to the lower the age of implant (p<0,05). Discussion: Different societies and studies placed to CI as the most effective treatment of the severe-profound AD, supporting the outcomes of our analysis, as so as occurring with those which show that verbal development is greater with earlier implantation. Conclusions: CI gets greater auditory outcomes that hearing aid, improving the prognostic of severe-profound AD. The age is essential in verbal development (inversely proportional relationship), but not in auditory gain. Analysis of verbal development according to the kind of CI showed a favorable distribution to simultaneous bilateral CIs (p>0,05).