Infants with neonatal Chronic Lung Disease are associated with delayed auditory conduction in the rostral brainstem after term

Abstract

Aims: Very Low Birthweight (VLBW) infants with neonatal Chronic Lung Disease (CLD) have been found to have functional impairment of the brainstem auditory pathway at term. This study investigated the functional status of the brainstem auditory pathway in VLBW infants with CLD after term for any abnormality.

Methods: Fifty-two VLBW infants were recruited at 50 weeks of Postconceptional Age: 25 with neonatal CLD and 27 without CLD. None had any other major complications to minimize confounding effects. Brainstem Auditory Evoked Responses were studied at 21‒91/s click rates.

Results: Compared with those without CLD, VLBW infants with CLD had relatively shorter latencies of BAER waves I and III, associated with a slightly lower BAER threshold. Wave V latency and I‒V interpeak interval did not differ significantly between the two groups of infants. The I‒III interval in infants with CLD was shorter than in those without CLD at 91/s clicks. However, the III‒V interval was significantly longer than in those without CLD at all click rates (all p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the amplitudes of BAER wave components between the two groups of infants.

Conclusions: The main BAER abnormality in VLBW infants with CLD was a prolonged III‒V interval. Auditory conduction is delayed or impaired at more central regions of the brainstem in CLD infants. After term central auditory function is adversely affected by neonatal CLD. Monitoring post-term change is required to provide valuable information for post-term care of CLD infants.

Fig. 1

Measurements of the III‒V interval at 21‒91/s in non-CLD and CLD groups. The interval in CLD group (black circle) is significantly longer than in non-PD group (white circle) at all click rates, particularly at higher click rates. *p < 0.05 for comparison between CLD and non-CLD groups.