TABLE 1.
Clinical characteristics of bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss participants according to serum total bilirubin tertiles
| TBIL (μmol/L) | |||||
| Variables | Overall | T1 (<10.6) | T2 (10.6–13.4) | T3 (>13.4)# | p |
| Number of participants | 113 | 40 | 38 | 35 | |
| TBIL (μmol/L)* | 11.9 (4.2) | 7.8 (1.9) | 11.9 (0.9) | 16.6 (3.1) | <0.001a |
| DBIL (μmol/L)* | 3.2 (1.2) | 2.3 (0.9) | 3.2 (0.8) | 4.3 (1.1) | <0.001a |
| Age (yrs)* | 51.0 (38.0–58.0) | 47.5 (33.8–59.2) | 51.0 (39.8–56.8) | 52.0 (42.2–62.0) | 0.490 |
| Gender* | 0.003b | ||||
| Female | 45 (39.8%) | 24 (60.0%) | 13 (34.2%) | 8 (22.9%) | |
| Male | 68 (60.2%) | 16 (40.0%) | 25 (65.8%) | 27 (77.1%) | |
| Neutrophil (103/μl)* | 4.0 (3.0–5.7) | 4.1 (3.0–6.9) | 3.8 (2.9–4.8) | 4.1 (3.0–5.6) | 0.650 |
| Lymphocyte (103/μl)* | 2.1 (1.6–2.4) | 2.2 (1.5–2.7) | 2.1 (1.8–2.4) | 1.9 (1.4–2.3) | 0.308 |
| RBC (106/μl)* | 4.6 (0.5) | 4.5 (0.5) | 4.6 (0.5) | 4.7 (0.4) | 0.027c |
| Hemoglobin (g/L)* | 139.7 (16.6) | 133.1 (17.8) | 142.5 (14.0) | 144.1 (15.8) | 0.006c |
| Platelet (103/μl)* | 225.5 (53.6) | 241.4 (61.8) | 211.4 (52.3) | 222.8 (39.6) | 0.042d |
| Hemocrit* | 0.41 (0.05) | 0.39 (0.05) | 0.42 (0.04) | 0.42 (0.04) | 0.005c |
| GGT (U/L)* | 23.1 (15.7–35.4) | 18.4 (12.4–25.2) | 23.6 (17.5–33.0) | 27.0 (19.0–45.0) | 0.011e |
| ALP (U/L)* | 64.9 (53.4–74.6) | 66.0 (55.1–92.4) | 56.9 (50.9–73.2) | 65.6 (59.5–68.5) | 0.061 |
| Mg (mmol/L)* | 0.89 (0.07) | 0.87 (0.07) | 0.88 (0.07) | 0.92 (0.06) | 0.020e |
| TG (mmol/L)* | 1.4 (0.9–1.9) | 1.3 (0.7–1.6) | 1.6 (0.7) | 1.6 (0.7) | 0.055 |
| LDL (mmol/L)* | 3.0 (0.8) | 2.8 (0.8) | 3.0 (0.8) | 3.2 (0.9) | 0.191 |
| HDL (mmol/L)* | 1.3 (1.1–1.5) | 1.4 (1.1–1.7) | 1.2 (1.0–1.5) | 1.3 (1.2–1.5) | 0.790 |
| Treatment (d)* | |||||
| Local steroids | 1.0 (0.0–3.0) | 2.0 (0.0–3.0) | 1.0 (0.0–3.0) | 1.0 (0.0–3.0) | 0.488 |
| Systemic steroids | 0.0 (0.0–5.0) | 0.0 (0.0–4.0) | 0.0 (0.0–6.0) | 0.0 (0.0–5.5) | 0.648 |
| Batroxobin | 4.0 (2.0–5.0) | 5.0 (2.0–5.2) | 4.0 (3.0–5.0) | 3.0 (1.0–5.0) | 0.101 |
| EGb761 | 10.0 (6.0–13.0) | 11.0 (8.5–13.2) | 10.0 (6.2–12.0) | 9.0 (4.5–11.5) | 0.089 |
| Number of ears | 180 | 62 | 60 | 58 | |
| Time duration (d)Δ | 10.0 (4.0–16.2) | 14.0 (8.0–17.0) | 7.5 (4.0–14.5) | 10.0 (3.0–15.0) | 0.043 |
| Initial hearing (dB HL) | 65.3 (46.7–88.4) | 78.2 (58.4–98.8) | 63.2 (45.0–84.1) | 57.6 (44.5–75.3) | 0.002c |
| Final hearing (dB HL) | 58.3 (29.2) | 67.4 (29.7) | 56.6 (29.1) | 50.1 (26.3) | 0.004c |
| Relative hearing gain (dB) | 10.4 (1.2–30.9) | 7.1 (0.0–23.7) | 12.3 (1.2–31.4) | 15.7 (4.2–32.6) | 0.092 |
| Absolute hearing gain (dB) | 7.3 (0.8–17.9) | 4.6 (0.0–12.8) | 10.0 (1.1–18.2) | 8.7 (2.5–17.7) | 0.283 |
| Audiogram | <0.001 | ||||
| Flat | 45 (25.0%) | 15 (24.2%) | 19 (31.7%) | 11 (19.0%) | |
| Descending | 60 (33.3%) | 18 (29.0%) | 19 (31.7%) | 23 (39.7%) | |
| Cophosis | 57 (31.7%) | 27 (43.5%) | 18 (30.0%) | 12 (20.7%) | b |
| Irregular | 9 (5.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 9 (15.5%) | e |
| Ascending | 9 (5.0%) | 2 (3.2%) | 4 (6.7%) | 3 (5.2%) | |
Continuous variables were presented as mean (standard deviation) for normal distribution, or medians (interquartile range) for non-normal distribution. Categorical variables were presented as n (%).
*These were subject-specific covariates, while the rest were ear-specific covariates.
ΔThe time elapse between symptom onset and the study entry.
#Only three out of the 113 patients had levels of TBIL above the normal range.
aSignificant differences were found in all pairs of groups after post-hoc comparison.
bThe only significant difference was between T1 and T3 groups after post-hoc comparison.
cSignificant differences were found between T1 and T2, T3 groups after post-hoc comparison.
dThe only significant difference was between T1 and T2 groups after post-hoc comparison.
eSignificant differences were found between T1, T2, and T3 groups after post-hoc comparison.
ALP indicates alkaline phosphatase; BSSHL, bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss; DBIL, direct bilirubin; GGT, gamma-glutamyl transferase; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; IBIL, indirect bilirubin; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; Mg, magnesium; RBC, red blood cell counts; TBIL, total bilirubin; TC, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride.