title: Enteroviruses and sudden deafness.
abstract: A young, healthy man presented with sudden severe sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. The results of the workup and neuroimaging were normal, as were the auditory brain stem responses. Methylprednisolone pulse therapy was associated with significant hearing improvement within 10 days. A history of a short self-limited febrile illness preceding admission (with headache, photophobia, myalgia and fatigue), a raised serum C-reactive protein level and transient leukopenia suggested an infectious cause. Lumbar puncture revealed a mononuclear pleocytosis of the cerebrospinal fluid, with negative cultures but positive polymerase chain reaction test results for enterovirus, which was later cultured from the patient's stool. The patient's wife and baby had had a similar febrile illness without hearing loss 10 days earlier, and an outbreak of enterovirus meningitis was identified in the area, which was associated with familial clustering and echovirus serotype 4 infection. The varied causes of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which should include enterovirus, are reviewed here.
authors.affiliation: Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. amiMD@clalit.org.il
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schattner
authors.forename: Doron
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Halperin
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zimhony
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004770:Enterovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D004769:Enterovirus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005221:Fatigue / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005334:Fever / Q000821:virology; D006261:Headache / Q000821:virology; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000821:virology*; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D007970:Leukopenia / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020795:Photophobia / Q000821:virology; D012703:Serotyping; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D008775:Methylprednisolone