Analisi retrospettiva dei parametri di mappaggio dell’impianto cocleare in pazienti affetti da CMV congenito

Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the first cause of non-genetic sensorineural hearing loss with onset in childhood. Sensorineural hearing loss is a common clinical sign, present in approximately 50% of symptomatic infections and 10% of asymptomatic infections. Hearing loss can progress to profound hearing loss. In these cases, a cochlear implant (CI) is the only device that can restore hearing. Although the involvement of neural and brain structures and the usefulness of CI are known, there are no specific clinical studies evaluating CI mapping parameters in this population. The primary objective of this study is to analyse the CI mapping parameters over time in paediatric patients with cCMV compared to a control group with CI for hearing loss secondary to mutation of the GJB2 gene. Subjects with cCMV who underwent CI surgery before the age of 18 were included in the study. Based on the aetiology and possible brain involvement, the study sample was divided into 2 groups: cCMV and altered cCMV in addition to the control group (connexin 26). Our results suggests that congenital cCMV infection, by damaging neurons in the auditory pathway, causes CI recipients to require higher than normal levels of current (control group) to produce similar neural (e-CAP) or behavioural responses (C-levels).