(1001) 25 Years of Neonatal Hearing Screanning at an University Hospital in Sorocaba, Brasil

Introduction: To analyze the risk factors most associated with neonatal hearing loss (NHS) at Hospital Santa Lucinda from 2018 to 2023; to compare the percentage of failures in Neonatal Hearing Screening (NHS) by risk factor; and to assess the occurrence of retests in the presence or absence of these factors.

Methods: Hospital spreadsheets containing NHS results and clinical data of newborns between 2018-2023 were used. Failure percentages by risk factor were analyzed, with calculation of Odds Ratio (OR), confidence intervals (IC), and multiple logistic regression with stepwise selection criteria for significant factors to evaluate factors jointly and compare OR values.

Results: It was shown that among the 19.830 children in the study, a majority of 17.061 (86,0% of the sample) had no risk factors for hearing loss, and within this majority, 249 failed the “ear test” (otoacoustic emissions screening) - a percentage of 1,5% of the total children without risk factors. Regarding gestational age, 19.304 children (97,3% of the sample) were born at term or post-term, and 526 children were premature (2,7% of the sample). It was observed in the test that among term/post-term children, 464 failed, and among premature children the number of failures was 30, resulting in a failure rate of 2,4% of the total term/post-term children and 5,7% of the total premature children - yielding a ratio of approximately 2,38. Furthermore, it was found that 234 of the premature children (44,5%) were accompanied by other risk factors for hearing loss. The combined analysis showed that 3,85% of newborns presented two or more simultaneous factors, indicating a potential cumulative risk.

Conclusions: It is concluded that the presence of risk factors, especially prematurity, hospitalization in a neonatal ICU, and antibiotic use, is associated with a higher probability of failure in Neonatal Hearing Screening. Even so, it was verified that even children without risk factors may present hearing loss, reinforcing the importance of universal screening and continuous follow-up to ensure early diagnosis and intervention.