title: Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments Attenuate the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a promising treatment in the management of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL), but the speciﬁc mechanisms of HBOT in ISSNHL are still unclear. The curative effects of HBOT in many diseases are related to the attenuation of inflammatory response. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a new inflammatory marker that can be assessed quickly. We investigated the relationship between HBOT and the inflammatory response in ISSNHL using the NLR.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case series with chart review
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary teaching and research hospital
  
  
  METHODS
  Between December 2007 and December 2013, 41 ISSNHL patients who underwent HBOT, 45 ISSNHL patients who did not undergo HBOT, and 14 healthy control subjects who underwent HBOT were included in the study. NLRs were assessed at 2 time points: at baseline (pretreatment) and on day 1 after 10 sessions of HBOT (posttreatment). Audiometric testing was performed at the above 2 time points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean post-HBOT NLRs, neutrophil, and white blood cell count values of the ISSNHL patients were significantly lower than their pretreatment values (P < .001). Compared with the ISSNHL patients who did not undergo HBOT, the posttreatment NLR levels of the ISSNHL patients who underwent HBOT were much lower (P = .036). Higher relative hearing gains were significantly associated with a greater reduction in the NLR after HBOT (r = -0.885, P = .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The beneficial effect of HBOT on ISSNHL may be mediated at least in part by a decrease of inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, ShaanXi, China.
authors.forename: Daqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Center of Otolaryngology of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mingfang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diao
authors.affiliation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jinjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Hyperbaric Oxygen Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Department of Hyperbaric Oxygen, Navy General Hospital, Beijing, China NavyhospitalHBO@163.com.
authors.forename: Shuyi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000097:blood* / Q000628:therapy*; D003639:Hearing Loss, Sudden / Q000097:blood* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT); idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL); inflammation; inflammatory marker; neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)