Brief Papers
Autoimmune inner ear disease associated with antiphospholipid antibodies
A. Bustos-Merlo1, A. Ortiz-Parra2, A. Rosales-Castillo3, J.M. Espinosa-Sanchez4, N. Navarrete-Navarrete5
- Autoimmune and Systemic Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieve, Granada, Spain. antoniobustosmerlo@gmail.com
- Autoimmune and Systemic Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieve, Granada, Spain.
- Autoimmune and Systemic Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieve, Granada, Spain.
- Division of Otoneurology, Department of Otolaryngology, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves, Granada; Otology and Neurotology Group CTS495, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, Granada; Department of Surgery, Division of Otolaryngology, University of Granada; and Sensorineural Pathology Programme, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Raras, CIBERER, Madrid, Spain.
- Autoimmune and Systemic Diseases Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieve, Granada, and MP03-Lupus, Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, Granada, Spain.
CER17606
2024 Vol.42, N°11
PI 2268, PF 2271
Brief Papers
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PMID: 39051169 [PubMed]
Received: 26/02/2024
Accepted : 20/05/2024
In Press: 18/07/2024
Published: 04/11/2024
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
The percentage of autoimmune diseases in Western countries is approximately 8% of the total population. Despite numerous studies indicating an increase in prevalence and incidence over the past two decades, autoimmune vestibular disorders seem to be underdiagnosed, primarily due to the lack of a definitive test capable of identifying the specific antigen of the inner ear. Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) is defined as a rapidly progressive and often fluctuating bilateral neurosensorial hearing loss that develops over a period of weeks or months. AIED can affect only the inner ear or be part of systemic diseases such as granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Cogan’s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, polyarteritis nodosa, or relapsing polychondritis, among others. Our main objective was to conduct a study on the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) in patients with AIED seen in a specialised clinic.
METHODS:
We designed an observational retrospective study in which we selected patients from a total group of 55 with AIED referred to the Autoimmune Diseases Clinic, those with confirmed positivity for antiphospholipid antibodies, and described their clinical, analytical, and epidemiological characteristics.
RESULTS:
We found a prevalence of 29% positivity for antiphospholipid antibodies, with lupus anticoagulant (LA) being the most frequently detected, followed by anticardiolipin (aCL) and anti-beta2 glycoprotein (anti-B2GP). Double positivity was observed in 25% of patients. The main clinical manifestations were bilateral hearing loss, vestibular symptoms, and tinnitus. Only 25% of patients experienced audiometric improvement during the course of the disease.
CONCLUSIONS:
We emphasise the importance of identifying the presence of aPL in AIED, enabling the establishment of appropriate and specific therapeutic management to prevent audiometric deterioration.
