Determining treatment choices after the cochlear implant evaluation process.
Publication/Presentation Date
4-1-2021
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Determine the proportion of patients starting the cochlear implant evaluation (CIE) process proceeding to cochlear implantation.Determine which patient factors are associated with undergoing cochlear implantation.
METHODS: Retrospective case series of all patients scheduled for a CIE within a tertiary academic neurotology practice between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2016. Management pathways of patients undergoing CIE were examined.
RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-seven adult patients were scheduled for CIE during the study period. Two hundred twenty-six patients started the evaluation process, and 203 patients completed full evaluation. Of patients that completed CIE, 166/203 (82%) met criteria for implantation and 37/203 (18%) did not meet criteria. Fifty-nine patients out of 166 patients (36%) meeting criteria did not receive implants and 107/166 (64%) underwent implantation, yielding an overall implantation rate of 47% (107/226) among patients scheduled for CIE. Common reasons for deferring CI among candidates included failure to show up for preoperative appointment (24%), choosing hearing aids as an alternative (22%), patient refusal (21%) and insurance issues (17%). Overall, CIE led to a new adjunctive hearing device (CI or hearing aid) in 113 (113/203, 56%) cases.
CONCLUSION: Fifty-six (113/203) percent of patients who underwent CIE at an academic medical center underwent CI surgery or received an adjunctive hearing device, but 36% (59/166) of candidates did not receive a CI. Patients who forewent CI despite meeting candidacy criteria did so due to cost/insurance issues, or due to preference for auditory amplification rather than CI.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.
Volume
6
Issue
2
First Page
320
Last Page
324
ISSN
2378-8038
Published In/Presented At
Redmann, A. J., Tawfik, K., Hammer, T., Wenstrup, L., Stevens, S., Breen, J. T., & Samy, R. N. (2021). Determining treatment choices after the cochlear implant evaluation process. Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology, 6(2), 320–324. https://doi.org/10.1002/lio2.546
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
33869764
Department(s)
Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology
Document Type
Article