Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered?
Background: Newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are at higher risk of developing sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), which may improve over time. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the main risk factors for SNHL in a NICU cohort, focusing on children who un...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/9/1375 |
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| author | Pietro Salvago Angelo Immordino Fulvio Plescia Marianna Mucia Andrea Albera Francesco Martines |
| author_facet | Pietro Salvago Angelo Immordino Fulvio Plescia Marianna Mucia Andrea Albera Francesco Martines |
| author_sort | Pietro Salvago |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are at higher risk of developing sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), which may improve over time. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the main risk factors for SNHL in a NICU cohort, focusing on children who underwent auditory maturation. Methods: An observational study of 378 children admitted to NICUs, who were followed for at least 18 months, with periodic audiologic assessments. Results: Out of 378 patients, 338 had normal hearing and 40 were hearing-impaired; we found a higher percentage of extremely preterm (EPT) and extremely low-birthweight (ELBW) infants in SNHL children (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Seventeen infants presented auditory improvement, with a mean maturation time of 6.17 months. A significant difference emerged between patients with stable SNHL and those who improved only in the case of hyperbilirubinemia (<i>p</i> = 0.005). The initial hearing threshold was a predictor of auditory improvement and moderately correlated to the time of auditory maturation (<i>p</i> = 0.02). Conclusions: Our study supports the trend toward recognizing worse prognoses and slower maturation processes among NICU children who suffer from severe to profound SNHL. Caution must be taken when deciding on earlier cochlear implantation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:24:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a904287245e44475a6ce14fdc2bdac58 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:24:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-a904287245e44475a6ce14fdc2bdac582023-11-23T15:38:02ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672022-09-0199137510.3390/children9091375Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered?Pietro Salvago0Angelo Immordino1Fulvio Plescia2Marianna Mucia3Andrea Albera4Francesco Martines5Dipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata (BiND), Sezione di Audiologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata (BiND), Sezione di Otroinolaringoiatria, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Promozione della Salute, Materno-Infantile, di Medicina Interna e Specialistica di Eccellenza “G. D’Alessandro”, University of Palermo, Piazza delle Cliniche 2, 90127 Palermo, ItalyUOSD Audiologia, A.O.U.P. “Paolo Giaccone”, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, Sezione di Otorinolaringoiatria, Università degli Studi di Torino, Corso Dogliotti 14, 10126 Torino, ItalyDipartimento di Biomedicina, Neuroscienze e Diagnostica Avanzata (BiND), Sezione di Audiologia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via del Vespro 129, 90127 Palermo, ItalyBackground: Newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are at higher risk of developing sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), which may improve over time. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the main risk factors for SNHL in a NICU cohort, focusing on children who underwent auditory maturation. Methods: An observational study of 378 children admitted to NICUs, who were followed for at least 18 months, with periodic audiologic assessments. Results: Out of 378 patients, 338 had normal hearing and 40 were hearing-impaired; we found a higher percentage of extremely preterm (EPT) and extremely low-birthweight (ELBW) infants in SNHL children (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Seventeen infants presented auditory improvement, with a mean maturation time of 6.17 months. A significant difference emerged between patients with stable SNHL and those who improved only in the case of hyperbilirubinemia (<i>p</i> = 0.005). The initial hearing threshold was a predictor of auditory improvement and moderately correlated to the time of auditory maturation (<i>p</i> = 0.02). Conclusions: Our study supports the trend toward recognizing worse prognoses and slower maturation processes among NICU children who suffer from severe to profound SNHL. Caution must be taken when deciding on earlier cochlear implantation.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/9/1375NICUsensorineural hearing lossauditory maturation |
| spellingShingle | Pietro Salvago Angelo Immordino Fulvio Plescia Marianna Mucia Andrea Albera Francesco Martines Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered? Children NICU sensorineural hearing loss auditory maturation |
| title | Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered? |
| title_full | Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered? |
| title_fullStr | Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered? |
| title_short | Risk Factors for Sensorineural Hearing Loss and Auditory Maturation in Children Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Who Recovered? |
| title_sort | risk factors for sensorineural hearing loss and auditory maturation in children admitted to neonatal intensive care units who recovered |
| topic | NICU sensorineural hearing loss auditory maturation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/9/9/1375 |
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