Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (BERA) in Neonates with Hyperbillirubinemia

Abstract

(1) To study the BERA changes in neonates with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. (2) To compare the BERA changes in the neonates with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia before and after therapy. Thirty consecutive term appropriate for gestational age (AGA) neonates presenting to NICU with total serum bilirubin requiring intervention (using the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines) were included in the study as cases and thirty normal term AGA neonates with uneventful peri-natal period and a maximum measured serum bilirubin <12 mg/dl in case of term baby were included as controls after obtaining informed consent. Initial BERA was done within 3–24 h of hospitalization after obtaining informed consent from parents, at the time of discharge and at 3 month followup. Machine used for recording BERA was intelligent hearing system version 3.3. In our study out of the 30 cases 10 (33.3 %) cases were found to have BERA changes in the form of absent wave forms, raised threshold, prolonged latencies or prolonged inter peak latencies. In our study, it was observed that there was statistically significant correlation (p value < 0.005) between increasing bilirubin level and BERA changes. Correlation of the findings of this study with previous few studies indicates that BERA can be used as a useful non invasive tool to determine auditory functions in the neonate especially changes of early bilirubin toxicity.