No Evidence for the Diagnostic Value of Borrelia Serology in Patients with Sudden Hearing Loss

Abstract

In this evidence-based case report, we address the following clinical question: What is the predictive value of serological testing for Borrelia for diagnosing neuroborreliosis in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss? We searched for relevant articles in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. We retrieved 49 unique publications and screened the title and abstract of these articles for relevance. We included 2 of 12 studies initially considered relevant to answer our question. These 2 studies reported a seroprevalence of antibodies against Borrelia of 16% in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SHL) as compared with 13.5% in the general population, but in neither patients with definite neuroborreliosis were they found. To date, there is no evidence regarding the added value of routine diagnostic serologic testing for Borrelia in diagnosing neuroborreliosis in patients with sudden SHL. Neuroborreliosis seems to be a rare cause of sudden SHL, and routine screening of patients for borrelia antibodies in serum should therefore not be recommended.