Changes in Auditory Evoked Potentials Increase the Chances of Adults Having Central Auditory Processing Disorder

Introduction  Auditory evoked potentials are widely used in clinical practice to complement the assessment of central auditory processing. However, it is necessary to understand whether these potentials are highly accurate, to assist in the diagnosis of auditory processing disorder. Objective  To measure the accuracy of middle and long latency auditory evoked potentials in the diagnosis of auditory processing disorder in adults. Methods  This is a case-control study, formed by a control group of 30 individuals with normal auditory processing assessment, and a case group composed of 43 individuals with altered auditory processing assessment. Their sensitivities, specificities, accuracies, positive and negative predictive values for the diagnosis of alterations were measured and compared between the potentials. Results  The accuracies of the middle and long latency potentials were 51% and 67%, respectively. The P1-N1-P2 and N2-P300 complexes had an accuracy of 57.5% and 58.9%, respectively. The cognitive potential P300 showed an accuracy of 55%. There was no significant result for the middle-latency potential (OR = 1.8; 95% CI: 0.6-5.4, p  > 0.42) and for P300 (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 0.85-8.43, p  > 0.11). However, the result was significant for the long-latency potential (OR = 6.3; 95% CI: 2-19.6, p  < 0.01). There was a significant result for the P1-N1-P2 complexes (OR = 6.76, 95% CI:1.4-32.5, p  = < 0.010) and N2-P300 (OR = 3.60; 95% CI: 10.16-11.20, p  < 0.039). Conclusion  Individuals with altered long-latency auditory evoked potential are more likely to have auditory processing disorder and, as such, this test can be used as a complementary tool to confirm the diagnosis.