Liaqat Ali, Tayyaba Khawar Butt, Saqib Siddiq, Muhammad Ali Khan.
Universal neonatal hearing screening with otoacoustic emissions.
Pak Paed J Jan ;29(4):197-203.

Objectives: To provide a procedural summary which wit supply a foundation for implementing a universal neonatal hearing screening programme with Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE`s) to determine the effects of sex, birth weight and mode of delivery on neonatal hearing. Study Design: Descriptive study from November 2000 to November 2001. Settings: This study was conducted at the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore and in the Department of Pediatric Audiology, Speech Therapy & Communication Aids, The Children`s Hospital & The Institute of Child Health, Lahore. Materials & Methods: All the live newborn babies delivered in the Obstetrics department of Lahore General Hospital, Lahore were screened for hearing within first 24 hours after birth by using TEOAE with ILO-288 Echoport. Results: Out of total 1004 newborn babies, 96 (9.56%) failed in the first screen. In the second screen, 42 infants were brought for follow up, out of which 34 passed, 2 partially passed and 6 (0.59%) failed. Among the 6 neonates who failed, 3 (50%) were full term with >2.5Kg birth weight and delivered by Cesarean Section. 1 (16.66%) was preterm with <2.5Kg birth weight and delivered through spontaneous vaginal delivery. Two (33.33%) neonates were full term female babies with >2.5Kg birth weight, out of which, 1(16.66%) was delivered through Cesarean Section and 1(16.66%) with forceps. Sex, birth weight and gestational age did not affect the results, however, mode of delivery (forceps) had adverse effects on neonatal hearing. Conclusions: Despite the high drop out rate, hearing impairment was 5.9 per 1000 which is higher than the reported figures of Western countries.

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