Author/Editor | Kekić, Branko; Marn, Borut | |
Title | Newborn hearing loss screening in Croatia | |
Type | članek | |
Source | Med Razgl | |
Vol. and No. | Letnik 43, št. Suppl 3 | |
Publication year | 2004 | |
Volume | str. 93-7 | |
Language | eng | |
Abstract | Congenital permanent hearing impairment is considered one of the most frequent congenital disorders with frequently delayed diagnosis and intervention, so an active approach of the health service is a prerequisite for the secondary prevention of this disorder. Universal (and not only high risk) newborn hearing screening has been widely accepted as a prerequisite of early diagnosis of congenital hearing impairment. The program was first initiated in Croatia at the beginning of February 2002, in a Zagreb maternity unit with about 3,000 newborns a year. The results were excellent and by the end of 2002, universal newborn hearing screening was started in all of 34 maternity units in Croatia. Modification of a two-staged, »bilocal« and »bimodal« model has been used for this purpose: stage I is performed at the maternity unit before discharge by registering automated transient evoked otoacoustic emission (A-OAE), and stage II at the same maternity unit or in an audiology department using the same method or by registering automated auditory brainstem response (A-ABR). Initial statistical results have shown that in a group of 3,070 newborns, 5.3% were positive either on one or both ears, necessitating the second stage of screening. The prevalence of a confirmed, significant bilateral permanent hearing impairment was 2.6/1,000. | |
Descriptors | HEARING DISORDERS HEARING TESTS AUDIOMETRY, EVOKED RESPONSE INFANT, NEWBORN CROATIA |