title: Implementation and results of bedside hearing screening with automated auditory brainstem response in the neonatal intensive care unit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate implementation and results of neonatal hearing screening with automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) by bedside nurses in a single-centre neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review of charts of 2074 newborns admitted over a 4-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One thousand eight hundred and 24 newborns (88%) were screened. A 'pass' result was obtained in 1761 patients (96.5%). From 63 infants with 'refer', 40 were tested with auditory brainstem response: in 28 hearing loss was confirmed. Three hundred and nine neonates were screened before postmenstrual age (PMA) of 34 weeks: 78% successfully passed the first test. Sixty-seven infants with 'refer' at the first test before PMA of 34 weeks were re-evaluated: 48 had normal hearing tests, 24 of whom still younger than 34 weeks. For 12 of 19 infants with 'refer' before 34 weeks, follow-up was available: in 7 hearing loss was confirmed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neonatal hearing screening with AABR can be easily performed by the bedside nurse in the NICU even in premature babies before 34 weeks PMA. A 'pass' result can be obtained in almost 80% of them; a 'refer' result at that age, however, must be interpreted cautiously, as false 'refer' occurred in 5/12 of these infants.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium. koenraad.smets@ugent.be
authors.forename: Koenraad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smets
authors.forename: Nele
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Verrue
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dhooge
mesh_terms: D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000458:organization & administration; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D016730:Program Development; D012189:Retrospective Studies