Auditory steady-state responses in infants with perinatal brain injury

• Published in: Pediatric neurology 2005-04, Vol.32 (4), p.236-240
• Main Authors: Santiago-Rodríguez, Efraín, Harmony, Thalía, Bernardino, Mario, Porras-Kattz, Eneida, Fernández-Bouzas, Antonio, Fernández, Thalía, Ricardo-Garcell, Josefina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Brain Diseases - complications; Brain Diseases - diagnosis; Brain Diseases - physiopathology; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - diagnosis; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - etiology; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural - physiopathology; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases - diagnosis; Infant, Newborn, Diseases - physiopathology; Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents; Medical sciences; Neurology; Predictive Value of Tests; Sensitivity and Specificity; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
• ISSN: 0887-8994; 1873-5150
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2004.12.005

Infants with perinatal brain injury present impairments in motor, visual, auditory, and cognitive functions. The most useful methods for detecting auditory alterations are auditory brainstem responses and otoacoustic emissions. Auditory steady-state responses have been reported as a reliable and objective technique for evaluating the hearing threshold. Auditory brainstem responses and auditory steady-state responses were carried out in 53 infants with perinatal brain injury and abnormal neurologic findings. With auditory brainstem responses, 33 (62.26%) infants presented normal and 20 abnormal results; 8 (15.09%) exhibited mild alterations, 8 (15.09%) moderate, and 4 (7.54%) severe alterations. With auditory steady-state responses, 17 (32.0%) infants were normal and 36 (67.9%) had abnormal results. When auditory steady-state responses were compared with auditory brainstem responses gold standard, the assessment gave 100% sensitivity, 51.51% specificity, 55.55% positive predictive value, and 100% negative predictive value. Abnormalities were mild in 21 (39.6%) infants, moderate in 10 (18.9%), and 5 (9.4%) exhibited severe hearing loss. We conclude that hearing loss is a frequent abnormality in infants with perinatal brain injury, and auditory steady-state responses have a high sensitivity for detecting hearing impairment, which is more evident in mild hearing loss for specific frequencies.