Postnatal risk factors associated with hearing loss among high-risk preterm infants: tertiary center results from Turkey

• Published in: European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology Vol. 271; no. 6; pp. 1485 - 1490
• Main Authors: Eras, Zeynep, Konukseven, Ozlem, Aksoy, Hatice Tatar, Canpolat, Fuat Emre, Genç, Aydan, Sakrucu, Evrim Durgut, Develioğlu, Omer, Dilmen, Ugur
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2014
• Subjects: Cohort Studies; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent - epidemiology; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent - surgery; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; Female; Gestational Age; Head and Neck Surgery; Hearing Loss - diagnosis; Hearing Loss - epidemiology; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neonatal Screening; Neurosurgery; Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; Otology; Otorhinolaryngology; Respiration, Artificial - statistics & numerical data; Retinopathy of Prematurity - epidemiology; Retinopathy of Prematurity - surgery; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sepsis - epidemiology; Sodium Potassium Chloride Symporter Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Tertiary Care Centers; Turkey - epidemiology; Turkey; Automated otoacoustic emissions; Postnatal risk factors; Preterm; Hearing loss; Automated auditory brainstem response
• ISSN: 0937-4477; 1434-4726
• DOI: 10.1007/s00405-013-2653-3

The aim of this study was to determine the postnatal risk factors associated with hearing loss as well as the prevalence of hearing loss among high-risk preterm infants in newborn hearing screening (NHS). We performed a retrospective study of high-risk preterm infants born with a gestational age ≤32 weeks and/or a birth weight ≤1,500 g. A NHS procedure was performed by automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) and automated evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE). Infants who failed TEOAE or AABR or both tests were referred to a tertiary audiology center for diagnosis confirmation and management. Postnatal risk factors associated with hearing loss were evaluated and compared for preterm infants with and without hearing loss. 1,360 high-risk preterm infants were assessed. Permanent hearing loss was found in 19 (1.4 %) infants. Multivariate analysis revealed that proven sepsis ( p  = 0.019), mechanical ventilation ≥5 days ( p  = 0.024), loop diuretics ( p  = 0.001), patent ductus arteriosus ligation ( p  = 0.018) and operation for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) ( p  = 0.034) were significant related factors for the hearing loss. This study showed a low prevalence of hearing loss and an association between operation for ROP and hearing loss in preterm infants, which has not been defined previously. Our results suggest that every neonatal intensive care unit should determine their own risk factors and take precautions to prevent hearing loss for these high-risk preterm infants.