Objective: Our objective was to perform a meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness of steroids and diuretics in the treatment of acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL).
Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Sci databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the treatment of ALHL with steroids and diuretics. The Cochrane Reviewer's Handbook 5.0 evaluation criteria were used to evaluate the quality of the included RCTs. Meta-analysis was performed using Revman 5.3 software to compare the recovery rate of low-tone hearing levels between patients treated with steroids and diuretics.
Results: A total of 3 RCTs were included. There was no heterogeneity between the 3 studies (χ2 = 2.61, P = .27, I2 = 23%); thus, a fixed-effects model of analysis was used. Meta-analysis showed there was no significant difference in the recovery rate of patients treated with steroids and those treated with diuretics (odds ratio = 1.48, 95% confidence interval: 0.64-3.40, P = .36).
Conclusion: Steroids and diuretics are equally effective for the treatment of ALHL.
Keywords: acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss; diuretics; meta-analysis; steroids.