Objectives To evaluate the associations between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on SNHL. Data Sources Ovid Medline, Embase, and Scopus databases. Review Methods A systematic search was done for studies investigating relationships between OSA and SNHL in adults, with manual searches for additional references. The final update was done on December 22, 2021. The Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies was applied for quality assessments. Results The 20 included studies had a total of 34,442 participants (66% male; mean age, 46.6 years). The OSA group had a significantly worse mean hearing threshold level (HTL) than the control group for midfrequency ranges (500, 1000, 2000 Hz; mean difference, 4.00 dB; 95% CI, 2.40-5.61) and high-frequency ranges (4000, 8000 Hz; mean difference, 6.24 dB; 95% CI, 2.99-9.49). An association between OSA and SNHL was found. When compared with controls, patients with OSA had an odds ratio of 1.52 (95% CI, 1.12-2.06) for midfrequency hearing impairment and 1.19 (95% CI, 1.05-1.34) for high-frequency hearing impairment. However, we did not find significant improvements in midfrequency HTL after CPAP therapy. Conclusions HTL was significantly poorer among participants with OSA (especially in severe cases) than non-OSA controls. Studies on patients with OSA with SNHL treated with CPAP did not show significant improvements in midfrequency HTL. Further studies are warranted on these issues.
Introduction Local nasal immunotherapy (LNIT), an alternative noninjection immunotherapy method, is theoretically an efficient method for inducing immunotolerance directly in the affected organ. LNIT is more convenient and less invasive than injection immunotherapy, with fewer systemic reactions. The development of adjuvants to overcome LNIT's limitations raises the possibility of it being an alternative allergen immunotherapy. Objectives To evaluate the clinical and immunological efficacy and safety of LNIT for patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods A systematic search for randomized controlled trials comparing LNIT and placebo was performed using OVID Medline and Embase. Outcomes were total nasal symptom score (TNSS), symptom–medication score (SMS), medication score, immunological assessment, and nasal provocation threshold. Data were pooled for meta‐analysis. Results A total of 20 studies with 698 participants were included. The LNIT group had greater posttreatment improvement in TNSS, SMS, and medication score than control (TNSS: standardized mean difference [SMD], –1.37 [95% confidence interval [CI], –2.04 to –0.69]; SMS: SMD, –1.55 [95% CI, –2.83 to –0.28]; and medication score: SMD, –1.09 [95% CI, –1.35 to –0.83]). Immunological assessments showed no significant differences in serum‐specific IgE (mean difference [MD], 6.35; 95% CI, –4.62 to 17.31), nasal IgE (MD, –0.59; 95% CI, –1.99 to 0.81), or nasal eosinophil cationic protein (MD, 7.63; 95% CI, –18.65 to 33.91). Only serum IgG significantly increased with LNIT (MD, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.20, 0.70). Posttreatment, nasal provocation threshold was higher with LNIT (MD, 27.30; 95% CI, 10.13–44.46). No significant adverse events were reported. Conclusions LNIT is a safe alternative allergen immunotherapy route without significant adverse events. It improves clinical symptoms, reduces medication usage, and increases the nasal provocation threshold.
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