[Compliance with current standards for the early detection of neonatal hearing loss]. / Cumplimiento de la normatividad vigente para la detección temprana de la hipoacusia neonatal.

OBJECTIVE: Assessing compliance with the section "Assessment of hearing" stipulated in the Technical Standard to Detect Alteration in children aged less than 10 years-old in Bogota. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study which involved reviewing the medical records of all children born between July 1st and December 31st 2010 in two healthcare institutions in Bogota. Records were selected in which any of the following risk factors appeared: neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia involving phototherapy, neonatal exposure to ototoxic substances and/or <1.500 gr low birth weight. It was also ascertained whether children had been referred to an auditory evoked potential test as the prescribed screening test for neonatal hearing, as stipulated in mandatory Colombian technical standards for detecting abnormal growth and developmental in children aged less than ten years-old. RESULTS: Neither of the two institutions was making the aforementioned referral test. DISCUSSION: The results indicated significant difficulties in adherence to the protocol for the early detection of hearing loss regarding pertinent/current neonatal Colombian regulations.