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Auditory brainstem responses in infants and children with anoxic brain damage due to near-suffocation or
K Kaga1, K Ichimura, E Kitazumi
1Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Near-drowning brain injuries in children can affect the upper brainstem and midbrain, unlike near-suffocation injuries. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) revealed significant differences between these injury types.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
- Audiology
Background:
- Anoxic brain injuries in infants and children can result from near-suffocation or near-drowning.
- Affected children often exhibit cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and/or epilepsy.
- Behavioral audiometry typically shows poor auditory responses in these patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) in children with anoxic brain damage.
- To compare ABR findings between near-drowning and near-suffocation incidents.
- To determine if near-drowning injuries impact brainstem structures more severely.
Main Methods:
- Studied auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) in sixteen infants and children.
- Classified patients into near-suffocation and near-drowning groups.
- Analyzed ABR wave presence and amplitude for each group.
Main Results:
- Auditory brainstem responses were abnormal in five patients from the near-drowning group.
- Near-drowning patients showed absent or diminished ABR waves (I, II, III, IV, V).
- Most patients in the near-suffocation group had normal ABRs.
Conclusions:
- Anoxic brain damage from near-drowning may affect the upper brainstem and midbrain in children.
- Near-drowning injuries appear to have a more severe neurological impact than near-suffocation injuries.
- ABRs can help differentiate the extent of brainstem involvement in anoxic injuries.
Abstract:
We studied auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) of sixteen infants and children with brain damage after anoxic accidents due to near-suffocation or near-drowning. The patients manifested cerebral palsy, mental retardation and/or epilepsy and showed poor responses in the behavioral audiometry. Auditory brainstem responses were abnormal in five of the patients in the near-drowning group (waves I, II and III only were present in three patients and the amplitudes of waves IV and V were low in two patients) but normal in most of the patients in the near-suffocation group. This difference in the ABRs between the two groups suggest that in infants and children anoxic brain damage due to near-drowning might involve not only the cerebral cortex and subcortical white matter but also the upper brainstem and midbrain.