Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32864446›Full record

ArticleLaryngoscope investigative otolaryngology2020

Do high-frequency air-bone gaps persist after ossiculoplasty?

Marc D Polanik, Danielle R Trakimas, Melissa Castillo-Bustamante, Jeffrey T Cheng, Elliott D Kozin, Aaron K Remenschneider

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Titanium incus interposition in ossiculoplasty: A retrospective study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Article
  3. Comparison of partial vs. total ossicular chain reconstruction using titanium prosthesis: a retrospective cohort study.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2023
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Does stapedotomy improve high frequency conductive hearing?Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2021
    Article
  6. Do high-frequency air-bone gaps persist after ossiculoplasty?Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2020
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Marc D PolanikEaton-Peabody Laboratories Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston Massachusetts USA.
Danielle R TrakimasDepartment of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA.
Melissa Castillo-BustamanteEaton-Peabody Laboratories Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston Massachusetts USA.
Jeffrey T ChengEaton-Peabody Laboratories Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston Massachusetts USA.
Elliott D KozinEaton-Peabody Laboratories Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston Massachusetts USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0305-0682
Aaron K RemenschneiderEaton-Peabody Laboratories Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Boston Massachusetts USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1974-1880
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary · USJohns Hopkins University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesConventional reporting of postoperative hearing outcomes utilizes a pure-tone averaged air-bone gap (ABG) that is biased toward low frequencies. Consequently, a high-frequency ABG after otologic surgery may go unnoticed. In this study, we evaluate changes in low- and high-frequency ABG following ossiculoplasty. STUDY

designRetrospective review. SUBJECTS AND

settingConsecutive series of patients who underwent ossiculoplasty at a single tertiary care center. Patients with pre- and postoperative audiograms were included.

methodsLow-frequency ABG was calculated as the mean ABG at 250, 500, and 1000 Hz. High-frequency ABG was calculated at 4 kHz. Pre- and postoperative ABGs were compared.

resultsThirty-seven consecutive patients were included. Mean age at surgery was 38 years (range, 7-77 years). Reconstruction materials included: cartilage (N = 4), hydroxyapatite cement (N = 5), and partial or total ossicular replacement prostheses (N = 20 and N = 8, respectively). Postoperatively, the mean low-frequency ABG improved by 11.9 ± 15.1 dB (

conclusionIn this series, ossiculoplasty improved ABG across all frequencies, but greater improvements were observed at low frequencies when compared to high frequency. Current reporting standards may not identify persistent high-frequency ABG. Additional study of the mechanisms of high-frequency sound conduction in reconstructed middle ears is needed to improve high-frequency hearing outcomes in ossiculoplasty. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4.

Indexed as

conductive hearing losshearing losshigh‐frequency hearing lossmiddle ear reconstructionossiculoplasty

Identifiers

PMID32864446
PMCPMC7444777
OpenAlexW3037295039

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.