Neonatal newborn hearing screening: four years' experience at Ferrara University Hospital (CHEAP project): part 1

The Child Hearing Early Assessment Programme (CHEAP) regional project, was a combined departmental approach (Audiology, Neonatology) of the University Hospital of Ferrara, aimed at identifying neonatal hearing impairment and defining early intervention strategies. Aims of this project have been: (i) construction of a neonatal screening programme using evoked otoacoustic emission and auditory brainstem responses; (ii) the calculation of a precise estimate of cost-benefits for every child tested; (iii) the development of an information flow instrument (database) for the storage of data and the statistical analysis of the results. The present report refers only to the results of the project related to the otoacoustic emission data from well-babies and intensive care unit residents. In the period January 2000-December 2004, 4269 full-term newborns and 654 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit babies were tested at the Neonatology Department. The cost of the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening was estimated at Euro 9.20 per child, considering the use of the ILO-292 apparatus, and Euro 8.28 per child in the case of an automatic screener. In this screening model, the initial hardware costs can be re-iterated into budget in a period of two years, if 1000 children per year are tested.