Sophie Caluraud1, Aurore Marcolla-Bouchetemblé2, Angélique de Barros2, Florence Moreau-Lenoir3, Emmanuel de Sevin4, Stéphane Rerolle5, Elisabeth Charrière5, Véronique Lecler-Scarcella6, François Billet7, Marie-Françoise Obstoy8, Isabelle Amstutz-Montadert2, Jean-Paul Marie2, Yannick Lerosey3. 1. Department of Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Rouen University Hospital (CHU), 1 rue de Germont, 76031 Rouen Cedex, France; Department of Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Dieppe General Hospital, avenue Pasteur, 76 200 Dieppe, France. Electronic address: scaluraud@ch-dieppe.fr. 2. Department of Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Rouen University Hospital (CHU), 1 rue de Germont, 76031 Rouen Cedex, France. 3. Department of Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Rouen University Hospital (CHU), 1 rue de Germont, 76031 Rouen Cedex, France; Department of Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Evreux General Hospital, rue Léon Schwartzenberg, 27015 Evreux Cedex, France. 4. Department of Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Dieppe General Hospital, avenue Pasteur, 76 200 Dieppe, France. 5. Department of Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Le Havre General Hospital, BP 24, 76083 Le Havre Cedex, France. 6. Department of Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Clinique Mathilde, 7 boulevard de l'Europe, 76175 Rouen Cedex, France. 7. Department of Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Fécamp General Hospital, 100 avenue François Mitterrand, 76400 Fécamp, France. 8. Department of Pediatric Ear Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery, Rouen University Hospital (CHU), 1 rue de Germont, 76031 Rouen Cedex, France; Beethoven Hearing Rehabilitation Center, CAMSP, 94 r St Julien, 76100 Rouen, France.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Neonatal hearing impairment is a common disorder with a prevalence of 1 to 2‰ worldwide, with significant consequences on overall development when rehabilitated too late. New-born hearing screening has been implemented in the 1990s in most European countries and the USA. The Upper-Normandy region of France has been conducting a pilot program since 1999. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate and critically analyse it. METHODS: The Upper-Normandy universal new-born hearing screening program is performed in two steps. Between 1999 and 2004, first, we administered a Transient Evoked Oto Acoustic Emission (TEOAE) test was administered a few days after birth for healthy newborns without risk factors. For newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or presenting risk factors, was administered an automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) test prior to discharge. Second, newborns who failed the initial hearing screening were retested as outpatients using TEOAE. Since 2004, infants who failed the initial screen were tested with AABR 3 to 4 weeks later as outpatients, providing an opportunity to compare the two protocols. RESULTS: Overall screening coverage in the Upper-Normandy region is 99.8%. First step coverage is 99.58% in well-infant nurseries and 97.09% in the NICU. The test-retest procedure during the first step and the use of AABR for the second resulted in higher follow-up rates and lower false positive rates. CONCLUSIONS: The Upper-Normandy region universal newborn hearing screening program facilitated diagnosis and rehabilitation of infants before age of 9 months, most notably when severe to profound hearing impairment was found.
OBJECTIVES:Neonatal hearing impairment is a common disorder with a prevalence of 1 to 2‰ worldwide, with significant consequences on overall development when rehabilitated too late. New-born hearing screening has been implemented in the 1990s in most European countries and the USA. The Upper-Normandy region of France has been conducting a pilot program since 1999. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate and critically analyse it. METHODS: The Upper-Normandy universal new-born hearing screening program is performed in two steps. Between 1999 and 2004, first, we administered a Transient Evoked Oto Acoustic Emission (TEOAE) test was administered a few days after birth for healthy newborns without risk factors. For newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or presenting risk factors, was administered an automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) test prior to discharge. Second, newborns who failed the initial hearing screening were retested as outpatients using TEOAE. Since 2004, infants who failed the initial screen were tested with AABR 3 to 4 weeks later as outpatients, providing an opportunity to compare the two protocols. RESULTS: Overall screening coverage in the Upper-Normandy region is 99.8%. First step coverage is 99.58% in well-infant nurseries and 97.09% in the NICU. The test-retest procedure during the first step and the use of AABR for the second resulted in higher follow-up rates and lower false positive rates. CONCLUSIONS: The Upper-Normandy region universal newborn hearing screening program facilitated diagnosis and rehabilitation of infants before age of 9 months, most notably when severe to profound hearing impairment was found.