Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun, South Korea.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Chonnam National University Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
Ear Nose Throat J. 2023 May;102(5):NP229-NP231. doi: 10.1177/01455613211001962. Epub 2021 Mar 18.
Hearing loss in older people can cause communication impairments, decreased quality of life, social isolation, depression, and dementia. Cochlear implant surgery is an effective treatment for older patients with hearing loss who cannot achieve satisfactory audiologic outcomes with hearing aids. However, older people have an increased risk of heart disease and often take medications that affect heart rhythm. Herein, we report a case of an 80-year-old woman who underwent cardioversion at 50J after cochlear implant surgery. Electrical impedance before and after cardioversion showed only minor changes without abnormality, and the cochlear implant functioned well. We believe that the electronic circuits of the cochlear implant may have been relatively tolerant to the electrical shock from the external defibrillator. Typically, cardioversion should be avoided in cochlear implant recipients because it may damage the implant. If cardioversion cannot be avoided, we strongly recommend starting cardioversion at the lowest energy level (50 J) and removing the sound processor of the implant during the procedure.
老年人听力损失可导致沟通障碍、生活质量下降、社会孤立、抑郁和痴呆。对于无法通过助听器获得满意听力效果的老年听力损失患者，人工耳蜗植入术是一种有效的治疗方法。然而，老年人患心脏病的风险增加，并且经常服用影响心律的药物。在此，我们报告了一例 80 岁女性患者，在人工耳蜗植入术后 50J 行电复律。电复律前后的电导率仅显示出轻微变化而无异常，且人工耳蜗功能良好。我们认为人工耳蜗的电子电路可能对外部除颤器的电击具有相对耐受性。通常情况下，应避免对人工耳蜗植入者进行电复律，因为这可能会损坏植入物。如果无法避免电复律，我们强烈建议以最低能量水平（50J）开始电复律，并在手术过程中取出植入物的声音处理器。
