ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of auditory neuropathy (AN) in late preterms treated with phototherapy for hyperbilirubinemia. DESIGN: Prospective observational study comprising late preterms treated with phototherapy for hyperbilirubinemia. Newborns were screened with combined transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) / automated auditory brainstem responses (AABR). Infants who failed screening underwent diagnostic (ABR). Infants were all re-evaluated with AABR at one year. STUDY SAMPLE: Eighty-five infants with a mean serum total bilirubin concentration of 22.3 ± 1.76 mg/dl; severe-hyperbilirubinemia (SH), and 102 infants with a mean serum total bilirubin concentration of 18.6 ± 1.26 mg/dl; non-severe hyperbilirubinemia (NSH) were included. RESULTS: From 85 late preterms with SH, six (7.1%) failed screening and underwent diagnostic ABR for six weeks. AN was diagnosed in two (2%) infants with SH. Four (3.9%) of the 102 controls with NSH demonstrated failure at TEOAE/AABR. No AN was diagnosed in the control group at the diagnostic ABR. No statistically significant difference was found between infants treated with phototherapy for SH and NSH with regard to AN/AD either in the postnatal period or at one year. No correlation was found between serum bilirubin levels and ABR latencies or thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: AN (2%) in late preterms treated with phototherapy for severe-hyperbilirubinemia was not higher than in those with non-severe hyperbilirubinemia.
Subject(s)
Hearing Loss, Central/epidemiology , Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal/complications , Bilirubin/blood , Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem/physiology , Female , Hearing Loss, Central/diagnosis , Hearing Loss, Central/etiology , Humans , Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal/therapy , Infant, Newborn , Infant, Premature , Male , Neonatal Screening , Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous/physiology , Phototherapy , Prevalence , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
We investigated the eustachian tube function and the incidence of alternobaric vertigo (AV) in 29 sport self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) divers with, or without, some possible risk factors for AV. The divers had normal audiological and otoscopic findings at the pre-dive examination. We used the nine-step inflation/deflation tympanometric test and Toynbee test for evaluation of eustachian tube function, and the Valsalva manoeuvre for patency. Information on divers, their history, and their otolaryngologic examination were obtained in the pre-dive examination. Divers performed 1086 dives (mean 37, range: 3-100) during the observation period. Four divers (14 per cent) experienced AV during five dives (0.46 per cent), (one diver experienced AV two times). It was found that having an otitis media history or eustachian tube dysfunction determined with the nine-step inflation/deflation tympanometric test before diving, or difficulty in clearing ears during diving could be important risk factors for AV in sport SCUBA divers (p <.05). Divers with such findings seem to be more prone to AV and should pay rigorous attention to the precautions for prevention of AV.
