May Influence the Epidural Anesthesia the Newborn Hearing Screening?

Abstract

Objectives: The main purpose was to determine if the epidural anesthesia has any influence on the results of the screening of the newborns whose birth was by caesarean section on request and if the time of the testing influences the results of the screening.Materials and methods: 50 newborn babies are taking in the study, 25 born by Cesarean section under epidural anesthesia, 25 born by natural delivery; they are tested at three different times using transient otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and automated auditory brainstem response (AABR).Results: The screening performed in the first four hours of the birth had false positive results, compared with the testing performed after 24 hours. They obtained an index increased of suspicion-statistically significant (p < 0, 05)-in the terms of the influence of the epidural anesthesia on the automatic response of the auditory brainstem (AABR) when the test is performed at less than four hours after birth. Conclusions: The obtained results have importance for the planning of the auditory screening, especially when it wants the universal testing of the hearing to the newborn.