Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Vitiligo-Associated Hearing Loss Among Patients in a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Povorcitinib.
Sensorineural hearing loss was found in 11.7% of vitiligo trial patients at baseline.
Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Vitiligo-Associated Hearing Loss Among Patients in a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of Povorcitinib.
With vitiligo reportedly have an increased risk of sensorineural hearing loss (sensorineural hearing loss), driven by the loss of extracutaneous melanocytes in the inner ear.
Sensorineural hearing loss was defined as a bone-conduction threshold of ≥ 25 dB in either ear and was assessed using all-frequencies average (AFA: 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, 8000 Hz), pure-tone average (PTA: 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz), and high-frequencies average (HFA: 2000, 3000, 4000, 6000, 8000 Hz).
About 1 in 9 patients had hearing loss on pure-tone audiometric testing at baseline.
Patients with versus without sensorineural hearing loss were significantly older and had significantly greater facial involvement.
Following up to 52 weeks of povorcitinib treatment, bone-conduction hearing thresholds improved across all frequency ranges, although no definitive conclusions can be drawn.
At week 52, mean percentage change from baseline in the left and right ears was as follows: AFA, - 18.7% (P = 0.08) and - 16.1% (P = 0.10); PTA, - 13.9% (P = 0.18) and - 7.2% (P = 0.25); and HFA, - 11.0% (P = 0.21) and - 12.6% (P = 0.18), respectively.
Sensorineural hearing loss was common in this patient population, suggesting that audiologic evaluation may be appropriate for some patients with vitiligo to support early detection and management of hearing loss.
Changes in hearing with povorcitinib treatment require confirmation in larger patient populations. Graphical abstract available for this article.