Meningitis-related hearing loss evaluated with evoked potentials.
Sixty-seven children with meningitis, ranging in age from 1 month to 14 years, were studied using brainstem auditory evoked potentials. Abnormal results were present in 60% of the subjects. Serial studies were obtained in 30% of the abnormal patients, 75% of whom demonstrated continued abnormalities on subsequent examination. Abnormal studies were found only in those patients who were 6 years of age or younger. The most prominent finding was an increased interwave interval resulting from increased wave V latencies. Additional abnormalities included an increased slope of the latency-intensity function suggestive of sensory-neural hearing loss. These studies clearly indicate the significance of early detection by the use of evoked potentials in the early diagnosis of hearing disorders in children with meningitis.
Cohen
B A
BA
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Schenk
V A
VA
Sweeney
D B
DB
D000293:Adolescent; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008581:Meningitis / Q000150:complications*