Predictive role of audiological and clinical features for functional results after stapedotomy

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and compare the preoperative factors that potentially influence the outcome of stapedotomy in our study group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 161 cases were enrolled. Clinical variables considered to influence functional results - air conduction (AC) and bone conduction (BC) pure-tone average (PTA), air-bone gaps (ABG), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), ABG gain and DeltaSNHL - were gender, age, case type (unilateral vs. bilateral), ear side (right vs. left), pregnancy, vascular disease and family history of otosclerosis. The audiometric variables were preoperative AC- and BC-PTA, SNHL and ABG. RESULTS: Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the probability of obtaining a > or =10 dB gain is significantly affected by the following factors: age <50 years, AC-PTA > or =50 dB and preoperative ABG > or =30 dB. All the other factors included into the registration (gender, familiarity, side, bilateral vs. unilateral, pregnancy, vascular diseases and preoperative BC-PTA) were not found to significantly affect postoperative gain (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, multivariate logistic regression analysis maintained a statistically significant correlation only between gain > or =10 dB and both preoperative ABG > or =30 dB and age <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: The accurate knowledge of predictive factors is a valuable tool that permits the surgeon to plan surgery with a better case selection as well as assisting in counseling the patient with regard to the likelihood of success of the procedure.