title: Functional abnormality of the auditory brainstem in high-risk late preterm infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether late preterm infants with perinatal problems are at risk of brainstem auditory impairment.
  
  
  METHODS
  68 high-risk late preterm infants (gestation 33-36 weeks) with perinatal problems or conditions were studied at term using maximum length sequence brainstem auditory evoked response. The controls were 41 normal term infants and 37 low-risk late preterm infants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with normal term infants, the high-risk late preterm infants demonstrated a significant abnormal increase in MLS BAER variables that mainly reflect more central function of the brainstem auditory pathway, including wave V latency, III-V and I-V interpeak intervals, and III-V/I-III interval ratio. The abnormalities were more significant at higher than at lower click rates. The slopes of MLS BAER-rate function for these variables were increased. Compared with low-risk late preterm infants, the high-risk infants showed similar, though slightly less significant, abnormalities, mainly a significant increase in III-V and I-V intervals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maximum length sequence brainstem auditory evoked response components that mainly reflect central function of the auditory brainstem were abnormal at term in high-risk late preterm infants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  More central regions of the auditory brainstem are impaired in high-risk late preterm infants, which is mainly caused by associated perinatal problems or conditions.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. zedong.jiang@paediatrics.ox.ac.uk
authors: Ze D
authors: ZD
authors: Jiang
authors: Li L
authors: LL
authors: Ping
authors: Andrew R
authors: AR
authors: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology*; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000473:pathology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012306:Risk