Microbiological characterization of the gut in patients with sudden total deafness

Objective To investigate a differential analysis of the intestinal flora characteristics of individuals with sudden total deafness and a healthy control population, it will be possible to determine whether there is a link between intestinal flora and sudden total deafness. Methods Fresh stool samples were taken from 10 patients with sudden total deafness and 10 healthy subjects (family members of 10 patients with sudden total deafness) who were hospitalized at Baiyun Hospital of Guizhou Medical University between December 2021 and February 2022. All subjects' stool samples were then analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Results We examined the differences in intestinal bacterial diversity between sudden total deafness and healthy normal patients using high-throughput sequencing technologies. The results of sample hierarchical clustering and principal coordinates analysis revealed that the sample flora structure varied between the sudden total deafness and normal control groups; multi-level species difference discriminant analysis and between-group difference analysis revealed that the intestinal flora of the 2 groups in the phylum Aspergillus (P=0.034), Clostridium (P= 0.003), with statistically significant differences between the 2 groups, but the relative absorption was similar between the 2 groups. The prevalence of Raoulia spp., Klebsiella spp., Caulobacter spp., Haemophilus spp., and Clostridium spp. was positively connected with sudden total deafness, according to a correlation study.At the genus level, five genera, including Porphyromonas spp., were considerably enriched in the entire deafness group, whereas only Clostridium spp. were significantly enriched in the normal control group, according to an LEfSe multilevel species hierarchy analysis.Four paths existed between the groups, according to PICRUSt functional prediction study.The four routes were considerably different at level 3 according to the results of the PICRUSt functional prediction analysis. Conclusion Patients with sudden total deafness and their families have dramatically different gut flora in terms of composition and functional pathways.