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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Application of an Amplitude-integrated EEG Monitor (Cerebral Function Monitor) to Neonates
Published on: September 6, 2017
Neonatal auditory function and depressed Apgar score: correlation of brainstem auditory response with Apgar score
Ze D Jiang1, Andrew R Wilkinson
1Neonatal Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK. zedong.jiang@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk
Aim:
To examine the relationship between neonatal auditory function and Apgar score in term infants with depressed Apgar scores.
Methods:
Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) was recorded on day 3 after birth in term infants who had Apgar scores < or = 7 at 1 and/or 5 min. Half of the infants also had Apgar scores at 10 min, with 17 < or = 7.
Results:
No BAER variables correlated significantly with 1-min Apgar score. However, wave III and V latencies, and I-V, I-III and III-V intervals correlated significantly and negatively with 5-min Apgar score (p < 0.05-0.01). These BAER variables were significantly longer in infants with 5-min Apgar scores < or = 7 than those > 7. Wave V latency and all intervals also correlated negatively with 10-min Apgar score (p < 0.05-0.01). Compared to normal controls, all latencies were prolonged in infants with depressed Apgar scores (all p < 0.05-0.01). All intervals were also prolonged in those with 5-min scores < or = 7 (p<0.05-0.01). Similar results were found when defining the depression of Apgar score as < or = 6.
Conclusion:
A depressed 5- and/or 10-min Apgar score is an indicator associated with neonatal auditory, mainly central, impairment. Apgar score < or = 7 or 6 at 1 min alone is unlikely to be associated with central impairment.
