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Comparative ABR profile in high risk infants
K B Singh1, A K Gupta, S B Mann
1Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
Insights
Neonatal jaundice, prematurity, meningitis, and septicemia can significantly impact infant hearing. Auditory brainstem responses reveal delays and deafness, with jaundice posing the greatest auditory risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Audiology
- Neonatology
Background:
- Infant hearing is crucial for development.
- Neonatal conditions like jaundice, prematurity, meningitis, and septicemia are potential threats to auditory health.
- Early detection of auditory insults is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate auditory pathway function in infants with specific neonatal conditions.
- To assess the incidence and severity of hearing impairment in these at-risk infants.
- To compare the auditory effects of neonatal jaundice, prematurity, pyogenic meningitis, and septicemia.
Main Methods:
- Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were recorded in 52 infants up to 3 months old.
- Participants included infants with a history of neonatal jaundice, prematurity, pyogenic meningitis, or septicemia.
- Analysis focused on absolute and interpeak latencies of ABR waves and the incidence of sensorineural deafness.
Main Results:
- Significant delays in ABR wave latencies were observed in infants with jaundice and prematurity.
- Pyogenic meningitis and septicemia also showed significant ABR abnormalities, with distinct patterns for each condition.
- Neonatal jaundice was associated with the highest incidence of severe and moderate sensorineural deafness (30.77% each).
- Overall, 44.23% of infants exhibited some form of deafness.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal conditions significantly affect auditory brainstem pathways in infants.
- Neonatal jaundice presents a substantial risk for severe hearing impairment.
- ABR is a valuable tool for identifying auditory insults in high-risk neonates.
Abstract:
Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were studied in 52 children upto the age of 3 months, suffering from neonatal jaundice, prematurity, pyogenic meningitis and septicemia. Absolute latency of wave I and interpeak latency I-V were found to be significantly delayed in cases of jaundice and absolute latency of wave V and interpeak latency I-V were prolonged in cases with prematurity. In cases following pyogenic meningitis absolute latency of wave V and interpeak latency of I-III, I-V were significantly delayed compared to septicemia where absolute latency I, V and interpeak latency I-V were significantly delayed (P < 0.05). Maximum auditory insult was seen in cases with neonatal jaundice where 30.77% each had severe SN deafness and 30.77% had moderate degree of deafness compared to prematurity, meningitis and septicemia where 14.28, 7.69 and 25% were found to have severe SN deafness and 7.14, 38.46 and 25% had moderate deafness. Overall incidence of deafness of any kind in these factors was 44.23%.