Analysis of the Referral Rates of Newborn Hearing Screening Test According to Childbirth Delivery Methods in Neonatal Care Units

Abstract

It is known that neonates born by cesarean delivery (CD) may have higher referral rates than those born by vaginal delivery (VD) for newborn hearing screening (NHS). False-positive NHS results can increase costs and parental anxiety. This study analyzed the differences in NHS referral rates according to delivery methods in Level I, II, and III neonatal care units. A retrospective chart review was done for 2322 infants (4644 ears) with delivery records who underwent NHS between 2004 and 2017. The first NHS was performed immediately before discharge when the infant was in good condition via the automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) or automated otoacoustic emissions (AOAE). There were 98 neonates (196 ears) who underwent both AABR and AOAE simultaneously as the first NHS, 30 of which failed. We used a total of 4810 ears in this analysis. Of all enrolled ears, 2075 ears were of neonates born by CD, and 2735 ears were of neonates born by VD. A total of 2460 ears were from patients in Level III neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and 2350 ears were from Level I and II neonatal care units. The overall referral rate was higher in infants born via CD (4.5%) than VD (3.2%). In Level I and II neonatal intensive care units, the referral rate was significantly higher in those born via CD (3.0%) than via VD (1.4%). Further, based on the screening method, AABR (75.8%) was more frequently used than AOAE (24.2%), thereby revealing AABR’s higher referral rate in CD (2.9%) than in VD (1.2%). The referral rate of infants who underwent the NHS within three days of birth was higher in the CD group (3.0%) than in the VD group (1.3%). There was no significant difference in the referral rate depending on the delivery method when infants were hospitalized for more than four days or hospitalized in the NICU. The referral rate according to the delivery methods was significantly higher when the NHS test was performed for healthy newborns in the Level I and II neonatal care units born by CD within 72 h using AABR. Therefore, we recommend that the hearing screening test for newborns delivered by cesarean section be performed after 72 h of age. The results of this study may reduce the false-positive NHS results, unnecessary further tests, and parental anxiety.

Seguimento de crianças com diagnóstico de surdez em programa de triagem auditiva neonatal em Manaus

“…Se o neonato passa, ou seja, apresenta resposta às EOAT em ambas as orelhas no teste da triagem auditiva, e não tem riscos para perda progressiva ou retrococlear, é feita uma orientação sobre o desenvolvimento da audição e da linguagem e ele recebe alta. Caso contrário, se há falha (quando não apresenta resposta em uma ou ambas as orelhas) é orientado o reteste com 30 dias e acompanhamento por uma equipe multidisciplinar, com o objetivo de encaminhá-los para diagnóstico desta deficiência, para realizar avaliações periódicas e intervenções adequadas a eles e seus familiares, durante os dois primeiros anos de vida 2,[4][5][6][7][8] .…”

Analysis of Newborn Hearing Screening Results in South Korea after National Health Insurance Coverage: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

“…Moreover, almost half of the babies with congenital hearing loss are reported to be otherwise healthy without risk factors of hearing loss such as family history, neonatal intensive care unit stay, sepsis, meningitis, hyperbilirubinemia, use of ototoxic drugs, etc. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Because delayed diagnosis and intervention may lead to permanent hearing loss that cannot be recovered later, early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) of newborn hearing loss are most crucial for not only the development of language skills but also cognitive and social–emotional skills in these babies [ 3 , 6 , 7 ].…”