Results at the end of chemotherapy and during the long-term
follow-up.
Auditory assessment was performed in all children involved in this study
before the beginning of chemotherapy and they showed normal hearing.
Thirty-eight children completed the long-term audiological follow-up
equal or longer than five years (range 60–108 months with a mean of 74
months). At the end of chemotherapy 15/38 (39.5%) children presented
ototoxicity (SIOP criteria > 0), of which 10/38 (26.3%)
exhibited a progressive hearing loss during the long-term follow-up
whereas 5/38 (13.1%) did not progress furtherly hearing loss. In
addiction at the long-term follow-up we observed 5/38 (13.1%) new cases
with late onset hearing loss. Finally, at the end of the 5-years
follow-up 20/38 (52.5%) had ototoxicity (SIOP criteria >
0). No patient showed hearing improvement during the hearing monitoring.
Details on grading percentages are showed in Fig. 1. The percentage of
children with ototoxicity at the long-term follow-up was significantly
increased compared to that at the end of chemotherapy 39.5% versus
52.5% (p < 0.001).