title: Success rate of newborn and follow-up screening of hearing using otoacoustic emissions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  During the last 6 years, and after a long period of pilot study, a universal newborn hearing screening program based on otoacoustic emissions is implemented in Iaso Maternity Hospital. Our purpose is to present the success rate of otoacoustic emission testing on discharge from the hospital and 1 month later.
  
  
  METHODS
  All full-term newborns who were screened during a period of 2 years and failed testing after one or more sessions of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions, on discharge from the hospital, were included in the study. These newborns were retested approximately 1 month after discharge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five thousand and thirty-two newborns were examined in total. We found 534 (2.1%) 'refer' cases. Only 223 of them (41.8%) returned to retest in follow-up after 1 month. From the rescreening, 59 (2.3 per thousand) newborns failed in the test again and were referred for diagnostic audiological evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rate of referrals was small, but efforts should be made to decrease it further. The final number of 'failures' found, approaches the expected rate of definitely diagnosed deafness reported from other settings. The main problem we have still to confront is the high missed to-follow-up rate.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department of Athens National University, Hippokration Hospital, 114 Vas. Sofias Av., GR-11528 Athens, Greece. skorres@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Stavros G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Korres
authors.forename: Dimitrios G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Balatsouras
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gkoritsa
authors.forename: Panayotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eliopoulos
authors.forename: Efstathios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rallis
authors.forename: Eleftherios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferekidis
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003051:Cochlea / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D012017:Referral and Consultation