TY - JOUR
TI - Universal newborn hearing screening, a revolutionary diagnosis of
deafness: real benefits and limitations
AU - Papacharalampous, George X.
AU - Nikolopoulos, Thomas P.
AU - Davilis,
AU - Dimitrios I.
AU - Xenellis, Ioannis E.
AU - Korres, Stavros G.
JO - European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology: Official Journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS)
PY - 2011
VL - 268
TODO - 10
SP - 1399-1406
PB - Springer-Verlag
SN - 0937-4477, 1434-4726
TODO - 10.1007/s00405-011-1672-1
TODO - Universal hearing screening; Newborn; Congenital hearing impairment
TODO - The finding that early detection of permanent congenital childhood
hearing loss produces worthwhile benefit in terms of improved speech and
language provides the rationale for the universal screening of newborns.
The aim of the present study is to collect the current evidence with
regard to the efficacy, the results and outcomes of universal hearing
screening programs. An extensive search of the literature was performed
in Medline and other available database sources. Study selection was
based on the evaluation of the protocols used and the assessment of
their efficacy in the early diagnosis of congenital hearing impairment.
The initial referral rate and the rate of false positives were also
evaluated. A total of 676,043 screened children have been identified in
20 studies. The average initial referral rate in these studies was
3.89%. The initial referral rate varied from 0.6 to 16.7%. The
lost-to-follow-up rates varied from 3.7 to 65%. Although universal
hearing screening is now widely adopted, there are still some serious
drawbacks and limitations. False positives rates remain considerably
high when newborns are screened with TEOAE’s. The combination of TEOAE’s
and a-ABR provides a significantly reduced referral rate. Close
cooperation between audiological centres and maternity units and a
dedicated secretariat team are of paramount importance with regard to
the reliability and efficacy of universal hearing screening.
ER -