Factors Predictive of Normal Sedated Auditory Brainstem Response Results
Specific factors can predict the odds of a normal versus an abnormal sedated auditory brainstem response (sABR), a test useful in determining hearing status in children with suspected hearing loss or unexplained language delay. But the test is resource intensive and carries the risks associated with general anesthesia. To help physicians counsel families on the need to undergo testing, researchers in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston sought to identify factors associated with normal results through a retrospective chart review of all sABR procedures performed at a tertiary pediatric care center over a two-year period.
“We collected demographic data, along with information about any concurrent procedures, other medical problems, failed newborn hearing screens, race, and previous history of aminoglycoside exposure,” says Vivian Kaul, MD, chief of otology, neurotology, and lateral skull base in the department and an assistant professor. “We found that patients with myringotomy tubes, those who failed a newborn hearing screen, and those who had been prescribed an aminoglycoside were less likely to produce normal sABR test results.”
The researchers also found that black patients who presented with concerns of hearing loss were more likely to have normal sABR results. They recommended further studies of socioeconomic factors in a larger sample size to explain the role race plays in predicting normal test results.
Zi Yang Jiang, MD, chief of pediatric otolaryngology and an associate professor in the department, is senior author of the study. Dr. Kaul presented the results at the meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology held in New Orleans.