Systematic Review of Outcomes After Cochlear Implantation in Children With X-Linked Deafness-2

Outcomes following cochlear implantation in children with X-linked deafness-2 are variable, resulting in challenges in appropriate preoperative counseling. To address this uncertainty, we performed a systematic review and synthesis of the literature on audiologic and speech outcomes after cochlear implantation in these patients to inform prognostic counseling.

PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were queried for articles published between January 2000 and July 2019.

We performed a systematic review of all studies published between 2000 and 2019 that reported on (1) children with confirmed X-linked deafness-2 undergoing cochlear implantation and (2) formal assessment of hearing and/or speech capabilities postimplantation.

Our initial database search yielded 313 articles. Fourteen articles met inclusion criteria. These studies reported on 61 children with X-linked deafness-2 who underwent implantation at a wide age range (1-29 years) for severe-profound sensorineural hearing loss of prelingual onset. The mean follow-up duration after implant activation was 32 months (range, 12-61). Outcome domains assessed at follow-up were heterogeneous, though each study employed at least 1 assessment of hearing (eg, pure tone audiometry), speech perception (eg, Early Speech Perception Test), or auditory perception (eg, Categories of Auditory Perception scores). In 10 of 14 studies, cochlear implantation afforded significant improvement in hearing and speech capabilities relative to preoperative performance or as compared with age-matched, normal-hearing controls.

The majority of studies demonstrate that cochlear implantation provides improvements in hearing and speech performance in patients with X-linked deafness-2. This information is valuable for decision making regarding cochlear implantation in these patients.