Guidelines for cochlear implantation in Saudi Arabia

Musaed A Alzahrani; Nader F Aldajani; Saeed A Alghamdi

doi:10.15537/smj.2021.42.12.20210262

Guidelines for cochlear implantation in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Med J. 2021 Dec;42(12):1265-1271. doi: 10.15537/smj.2021.42.12.20210262.

Authors

Musaed A Alzahrani¹, Nader F Aldajani¹, Saeed A Alghamdi¹

Affiliation

¹ From the Department of Otolaryngology (Alzahrani), King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam; from the Department of Otolaryngology (Aldajani), King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh; and from the Head and Neck, Skull Base Health Center (Alghamdi), King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

This study aim to establish unified clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for adults and pediatric cochlear implantation (CI) for the Ministry of Health specialist hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A comprehensive literature review was carried out by a task force group. Guidelines were based on evidence-based medicine including institutions and individuals' experiences. Bilateral CI is recommended for adults and pediatrics with bilateral severe/profound hearing loss. The minimum age of implantation for children is recommended at 9 months. This study provides a safe framework for the multidisciplinary team to select appropriate CI candidates. It is important to establish a comprehensive multidisciplinary team covering different aspects of health care providers.

Keywords: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; cochlear implant; guideline; hearing loss; single sided deafness.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Child
Cochlear Implantation*
Cochlear Implants*
Deafness* / surgery
Hearing Loss* / therapy
Humans
Infant
Saudi Arabia