The hearing function in premature children with intrauterine growth retardation
The objective. Based on evaluation of auditory function in children with IUGR, to study its role as a risk factor for disorders of auditory function at birth. Patients and methods. A primary audiological examination by the method of evoked distortion-product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) was performed in 136 premature children of various gestational age, who were born of singleton pregnancy. The children were divided into two groups: premature children with IUGR and premature children with the birth body weight corresponding to the term of gestation (normotrophics). Results. A primary audiological examination established that the percentage of passing the test in both ears among normotrophic children was always higher than in children with IUGR, and evoked acoustic response was recorded in premature children with IUGR more rarely than in children with the same terms of gestation but with the birth body weight corresponding to the term of gestation, which is indicative of damage or delay of maturation of the peripheral auditory analyzer in them. In the study's conclusion, a distinct interrelation between the result of passing the primary audiological test and the birth body weight was found: the lower the body weight the higher the percentage of the absence of evoked acoustic response DPOAE, i.e. as was shown, IUGR at birth influences the result of passing the test (р = 0.0466). Irrespective of the term of gestation, in normotrophic children and children with IUGR who passed primary hearing testing by the method of DPOAE, the intensity of acoustic response did not differ significantly. The dominating frequency of acoustic response is always the same - 2 kHz. Conclusion. The result of passing the primary audiological test depends on the birth body weight: the less the body weight is, the higher the possibility of the absence of recorded acoustic response in primary examination.