ABSTRACT
Background: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is the most common condition that requires medical attention in newborns. The phenomenon of deposited indirect bilirubin in basal ganglia as well as in the vestibule-cochlear nucleus causes a neurological syndrome called kernicterus as well as sensorineural hearing loss. Currently, the most sensitive means of assessing neurotoxicity may be auditory brain stem evoked response [ABR], which shows the predictable early effects of bilirubin toxicity
Aim: This study aims to determine the effect of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia on auditory brainstem response [ABR] and evaluate the effect of treatment of hyperbilirubinemia on ABR findings
Subjects and Methods: This case-control study was performed on30 neonates with pathologic hyperbilirubinemia as the jaundiced group chosen from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of AL Zahraa Hospital of Al-Azhar University and 20 healthy neonates as the control group chosen from Maternity department of the same hospital during the period from September, 2011 to August, 2012. ABR was performed on both groups. The evaluated variable factors were latency time, inter peak intervals time
Results: The mean latencies of waves I, III and V of ABR were significantly higher in the pathologic hyperbilirubinemia group as compared with the controls and the mean interpeak intervals [IPI] of waves I-III, I-V and III-V of ABR were significantly higher in the pathologic hyperbilirubinemia group as compared with the controls. A total reversibility to normal thresholds [normal hearing] was displayed by 23 [77.00%] and 25 [83.30%] of jaundiced neonates in the right and left ears respectively, while the remaining 7 [23.00%] and 5 [16.70%] of jaundiced neonates displayed partial reversibility [mild to moderate hearing loss] in the right and left ears respectively [p <0"001]
Conclusions: About 90% of neonates with pathologic hyperbilirubinemia demonstrate ABR changes. Most of these changes [about 77%] revert to normal early after therapy