Screening strategy and time points for newborn hearing re-screening with high risk factors.

Objective: To compare and analyze the pass rate and screening strategy of hearing rescreening for newborns with high risk factors.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of high-risk newborns who failed their initial newborn hearing screen and subsequently underwent secondary hearing tests from June 2011 to June 2018 in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center were performed.

Results: Eight hundred and sixty-eight newborns with high risk factors were included in the study. The 57-70 days (83.5%) and 71-84 days (83.4%) group had the highest pass rate compared with 42-56 days (75.8%) and < 42 days (68.3%) group. As for different screening strategies, the pass rate of OAE(otoacoustic emissions), AABR (auto auditory brainstem response) and OAE + AABR was the highest in 57-70 days group and 71-84 days group, respectively. The OAE + AABR had the lowest pass rate compared to the other two modalities. When the pass rate was compared as different risk factors, the 57-70 days and 71-84 days group also had the highest pass rate compared with 42-56 days and < 42 days group and the pass rate had no significant differences among various risk factors group.

Conclusion: Our results showed that all the pass rate of OAE, AABR and OAE + AABR was the highest in 57-70 days group and 71-84 days group with significant difference, suggesting that the delayed screening time (>57 days) may increase the re-screening pass rate and reduce anxiety of parents, which is of great significance for clinical work.