Objective: The effectiveness of audiological monitoring for detecting early hearing changes in patients receiving ototoxic medication could be limited by the lack of adequate audiological ototoxicity monitoring (OtoM) guidelines. This study aimed to evaluate existing OtoM guidelines using the AGREE II tool for guideline evaluation.
Design: Guideline Review.
Study sample: Three audiological OtoM guidelines.
Results: An online search identified three audiological OtoM guidelines published by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA), the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Evaluation using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II tool found the HPCSA audiological OtoM guideline scored higher than the ASHA and AAA guidelines in five of the six tool domains. All guidelines received average domain ratings of less than 50% with each reviewer recommending all three guidelines for use following modification.
Conclusion: The findings of this study could partly explain the poor uptake of audiological OtoM practices internationally, further investigation is needed to identify the specific factors limiting the implementation of audiological OtoM in clinical practice.
Keywords: AGREE II tool; Ototoxicity; audiological monitoring; guideline evaluation; hearing loss; hearing loss prevention; ototoxicity monitoring.