Incidencia de hipoacusia en neonatos con bajo peso al nacer ingresados a UCIN mediante emisiones otoacústicas en el Hospital General Guasmo Sur durante el periodo 2021-2022.

Abstract

Introduction: Neonatal hearing loss is one of the most frequent disabilities in children. Hospitals have the responsibility to detect hearing loss during the crucial years for language learning. For this reason, it is recommended to carry out hearing screening in neonatal reception areas and maintain controls during the first years. Objective: Evaluate the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in patients with low birth weight admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: The data collection method of the baseline characteristics of the patients to be included in the study will be through the review of medical records. Patients that fulfilled our inclusion criteria underwent an otoacoustic emissions (OAE) hearing screening study. The sociodemographic data of the study subjects will be represented by frequency (percentage) and mean (standard deviation) or median (interquartile range) according to the statistical distribution obtained. Results: A total of 114 patients were recruited in the present study during the 2021-2022 study period. Of the 114 patients studied, 70 patients were born with low birth weight. The incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in low-birth-weight neonates was 11%. Factors that may increase the risk of hearing loss in patients admitted to the NICU area were identified, which are low birth weight, premature delivery, history of HIV and syphilis, and the use of ototoxic drugs. Conclusions: In our study it was found that low birth weight, prematurity, Apgar less than 7 at 10 minutes and the presence of HIV and syphilis are significant risk factors for the development of hearing loss. There is no evidence of a significant relationship between the sex of the newborn and the use of ototoxic drugs with the development of hearing loss.