Auditory brainstem response in neonates with asphyxia and intracranial haemorrhage

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to assess possible brainstem damage in 76 neonates with asphyxia and intracranial haemorrhage (ICH). Fifty-eight neonates had ICH, 52 had neonatal asphyxia and 34 of these patients had both. Eighty-nine percent of the patients with neonatal asphyxia showed some abnormal patterns in response, the major one being an increase in the threshold of wave V. In the ICH group, abnormal patterns were observed in 62.5%, among whom the prolongation of the I-V interpeak latency (IPL) and of wave V latency was seen more frequently than the increase of threshold of wave V. In the case of neonatal asphyxia associated with ICH, both the prolongation of the latency and the increase of threshold were observed equally. These abnormalities of ABR were associated with worsening clinical condition and conversely normalized gradually following the improvement of the underlying disease. Especially the I-V IPL, wave V latency and the threshold of wave V could serve as indicators of the treatment.