Neonatal auditory screening with automated ABR

Abstract

To detect infant hearing disorders at the earliest stage, we use an ABR screener with natus-ALGO2e (AABR). We evaluated AABR efficancy and it with conventional ABR. Materials and Methods: We examined 1450 ears of 725 infants at the perinatal center of Toho University Hospital (Ohmori) using AABR. Average gestation was 38.77±2.61 weeks average weight at delivery 2891.4±567.2 grams, and average days after birth 10.5±21.28 days at examination. Conventional ABR was used on 60 ears of 30 infants at high-risk for hearing disorders in 75 cases. AABR detection was "normal" (PASS) or "uncertain" (REFER). Results: 1. AABR screening tests were used in all cases sleeping without the use of narcotics. A test took only 5.12±6.08 minutes on average. Of the 725 cases, 716 (98.8%) resulted in a bilateral PASS, 6 (0.8%), in unilateral REFER, and 3 (0.4%) in bilateral REFER. 2. In low-risk hearing impairment of 1300 ears of 650 infants, bilateral PASS was seen for 646 infants (99.4%) and unilateral REFER for 4 (0.6%). Reexamination was done for 4 infants with unilateral REFER after a week, but PASS was indicated in all cases. 3. In the comparative study with conventional ABR in high-risk hearing disorder for 60 ears of 30 infants, examination showed abnormalities in 2 of 53 ears passed by AABR. These 2 infants had marked low weight at delivery and abnormal chromosomes and are being followed up carefully as outpatients. 4. Seven ears of 4 infants with unilateral REFER and bilateral REFER by AABR were abnormal in all cases in conventional ABR examination. These, cases had severe risk factors such as marked low weight at delivery, asphyxia neonatorum, and long-term respiratory control problems. Two ears of 1 infant gave no response bilaterally in conventional ABR at the age of 1 year and 2 months. Conclusion: AABR screening is compact, speedy, and more risk-free than conventional ABR, but discrepancies in results suggest the need for careful reexamination.