PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jocelyn C Leung
AU  - Christina L Cifra
AU  - Alexander G Agthe
AU  - Chen-Chih J Sun
AU  - Rose M Viscardi
TI  - Antenatal factors modulate hearing screen failure risk in preterm infants
AID  - 10.1136/archdischild-2014-307843
DP  - 2016 Jan 01
TA  - Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
PG  - 56--61
VI  - 101
IP  - 1
4099  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/101/1/56.short
4100  - http://fn.bmj.com/content/101/1/56.full
SO  - Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed2016 Jan 01; 101
AB  - Objective The objective of this study was to characterise the effects of antenatal inflammatory factors and maternal therapies on neonatal hearing screen outcomes in very low birthweight infants.Methods We conducted a retrospective study of a cohort of infants <33 weeks’ gestational age and <1501 g birth weight prospectively enrolled between 1999 and 2003 for whom placental pathology, cord blood interleukin (IL) 6, IL-1ß, tumour necrosis factor-α and neonatal hearing screen results were available.Results Of 289 infants with documented hearing screen results, 244 (84%) passed and 45 (16%) failed the hearing screen (unilateral, N=25 (56%); bilateral, N=20 (44%)). In the final logistic model, the fetal inflammatory response syndrome defined as the presence of fetal vasculitis and/or cord serum IL-6>18.2 pg/mL was the factor with greatest risk for hearing screen failure (OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.38 to 9.5). A patent ductus arteriosus treated with indomethacin significantly increased the risk (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.3 to 8.26), while combined maternal steroid and magnesium sulfate exposure (0.37, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.81) reduced the risk for hearing screen failure.Conclusions Intrauterine infection with a fetal inflammatory response is a risk factor for neonatal hearing loss while maternal therapies significantly reduced the risk of neonatal hearing loss in very low birthweight infants.