Abstract
Background: Whether neonates with low Apgar scores but not signs of brain damage have cochlear impairment is unclear.
Aims: To detect any cochlear impairment in neonates with low Apgar scores but no hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy and to define which frequencies of the cochlear audiogram are affected.
Methods: The subjects were 54 term neonates with Apgar scores <7 at 1 and/or 5 min. None had clinical signs of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. Normal controls were 35 term neonates without perinatal problems or conditions. On day 3–5 after brith, DPOAEs were elicited by two pune tones (f1/f2 = 1.22). The lower (f1) and higher (f2) frequency primary tones were simultaneously presented at 65 and 55 dB SPL, respectively. The f2 primary tone was presented at 10 frequencies (0.5–10 kHz). The left and right ears were tested, respectively.
Results: The general pattern of DPOAE pass rates at different frequencies in the subjects were similar to that in the controls, with a dip at 750 Hz and 1 kHz. Compared to the controls, the DPOAE pass rate in the subjects was lower at most frequencies of the f2 primary tone. The greatest difference occurred at 1 kHz at which the pass rate was 34.3% in the subjects, compared with 82.9% in the controls. The pass rates in the subjects were significantly lower than in the controls at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 kHz (P <0.05–0.01). The overall failure rate in the subjects (16.3%) was significantly higher than in the controls (4.3%, P <0.05).
Conclusions: There was a cochlear impairment in neonates who had a low Apgar score but no hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. The impairment occurred mainly at the frequencies 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 kHz. Nevertheless, this impairment was less severe than that we previously reported in infants who had both low Apgar scores and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy.
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Jiang, Z., Zheng, Z. & Wilkinson, A. 419 Neonatal Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions and Low Apgar Score. Pediatr Res 58, 426 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200508000-00448
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200508000-00448