BACKGROUND: The authors aimed to evaluate the benefits and harms of universal newborn hearing screening programmes in the detection of hearing impairment. OBJECTIVES: In the absence of randomised trials evaluating whole screening programmes, the study divided the objective into three systematic reviews of non-randomised controlled studies of diagnostic accuracy of screening tests, screening versus no screening, and therapeutic effect of early versus later treatment. METHODS: The authors searched 11 bibliographic databases, and included 17 studies (diagnostic: 9, screening: 2, and treatment: 6). All studies apart from one treatment study showed major quality deficits. Eight diagnostic studies comparing otoacoustic emissions with auditory brainstem response showed sensitivities (and specificities) between 50% (49.1%) and 100% (97.2%). RESULTS: The studies comparing screening versus no screening showed an improvement of speech development of children in the screening group compared with the group without screening. Early treatment was associated with better language development in comparison to children with later treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The authors concluded that there is a lack of high-quality evidence regarding all elements of newborn hearing screening. Early identification and early treatment of children with hearing impairments may be associated with advantages in language development. Other patient-relevant parameters, such as social aspects, quality of life, and educational development, have not been adequately investigated.
BACKGROUND: The authors aimed to evaluate the benefits and harms of universal newborn hearing screening programmes in the detection of hearing impairment. OBJECTIVES: In the absence of randomised trials evaluating whole screening programmes, the study divided the objective into three systematic reviews of non-randomised controlled studies of diagnostic accuracy of screening tests, screening versus no screening, and therapeutic effect of early versus later treatment. METHODS: The authors searched 11 bibliographic databases, and included 17 studies (diagnostic: 9, screening: 2, and treatment: 6). All studies apart from one treatment study showed major quality deficits. Eight diagnostic studies comparing otoacoustic emissions with auditory brainstem response showed sensitivities (and specificities) between 50% (49.1%) and 100% (97.2%). RESULTS: The studies comparing screening versus no screening showed an improvement of speech development of children in the screening group compared with the group without screening. Early treatment was associated with better language development in comparison to children with later treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The authors concluded that there is a lack of high-quality evidence regarding all elements of newborn hearing screening. Early identification and early treatment of children with hearing impairments may be associated with advantages in language development. Other patient-relevant parameters, such as social aspects, quality of life, and educational development, have not been adequately investigated.
Authors: Teresa Y C Ching; Kathryn Crowe; Vivienne Martin; Julia Day; Nicole Mahler; Samantha Youn; Laura Street; Cassandra Cook; Julia Orsini Journal: Int J Speech Lang Pathol Date: 2010-04 Impact factor: 2.484
Authors: Rajan Sharma; Yuanyuan Gu; Teresa Y C Ching; Vivienne Marnane; Bonny Parkinson Journal: Appl Health Econ Health Policy Date: 2019-06 Impact factor: 2.561
Authors: Teresa Y C Ching; Harvey Dillon; Vivienne Marnane; Sanna Hou; Julia Day; Mark Seeto; Kathryn Crowe; Laura Street; Jessica Thomson; Patricia Van Buynder; Vicky Zhang; Angela Wong; Lauren Burns; Christopher Flynn; Linda Cupples; Robert S C Cowan; Greg Leigh; Jessica Sjahalam-King; Angel Yeh Journal: Ear Hear Date: 2013-09 Impact factor: 3.570
Authors: Pierpaolo Mincarone; Carlo Giacomo Leo; Saverio Sabina; Daniele Costantini; Francesco Cozzolino; John B Wong; Giuseppe Latini Journal: BMC Pediatr Date: 2015-07-22 Impact factor: 2.125