Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) screening were conducted in infants at a distant hospital using remote computing. Eighteen males and twelve females ranging in age from 11 -45 days were tested. Both DPOAE and AABR data were recorded using an integrated test system which was connected to the computer network at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Using a broadband Internet connection, an examiner at Utah State University, 200 km away, could control the DPOAE and the ABR equipment. Identical hearing screening results were obtained for face-to-face and telemedicine trials with all infants. The DPOAE means for face-to-face and telemedicine trials were not significantly different at any frequency. In an analysis of variance, there was no significant difference for the test method (F ¼ 0.8, P . 0.05). These results indicate that remote computing is a feasible telemedicine method for providing DPOAE and ABR hearing screening services to infants in rural communities.
The way results of cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening are communicated to parents is critical yet is done differently across the globe. We surveyed parents of 101 children in our tertiary London paediatric centre with a 48% response rate. Parental responses were as follows: 40/42 (95%) said the information could not have been given over the phone and 39/43 (91%) said they wanted both partners present; 27/42 (64%) said it was helpful having the health visitor also present; and 37/40 (92%) felt it was acceptable to wait until the next day for the sweat test. We have reduced the time from first contact to arriving in the home to 2–3 h.
Conclusion: We believe that this survey backs up our approach of a home visit by a CF nurse specialist with the family’s health visitor to break the news. This is challenging in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
What is Known:• Breaking bad news can have a lasting impact on parents when not done the right way.• Giving results of cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening is done differently within the UK and around the world.What is New:• Our parental survey revealed that the majority (92%) believed this should be done face to face and not over the telephone.• There was a mixed response to whether the parents should be told the genotype (assuming the CF centre knew), and thus the CF diagnosis before the confirmatory sweat test was carried out.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.