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. 2024 Jul-Aug;38(4):1939-1946.
doi: 10.21873/invivo.13650.

Newborn Hearing Screening - An Implementation Analysis

Tomáš Kostlivý  1 , Petr Škopek  1 , Pavel Klail  1 , Hana Laierová  1 , Alena Skálová  2 , Břetislav Gál  3 , Radek Kučera  4 , Václav Šimánek  1 , David Slouka  5
Affiliations

Newborn Hearing Screening - An Implementation Analysis

Tomáš Kostlivý et al. In Vivo. 2024 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background/aim: Hearing impairment affects a small but significant percentage of newborns (0.1-0.4%). Newborn hearing screening (NHS) is recommended for early detection and treatment. The implementation of NHS can vary among countries. In this study, we present the methodology, organization, and technical requirements of NHS. This study analyzed results from a tertiary hospital, identified issues, and proposed solutions.

Patients and methods: In the studied region, there are five maternity hospitals and a perinatal intensive care center and in 2020, there were 5,864 live births. Screening is performed at three levels. The first screening is conducted on the 2nd-3rd day of a newborn's life in a maternity hospital, the first rescreening on the 3rd-6th week at a relevant ENT department, and the second rescreening on the 3rd-6th month of life at the regional screening center where the central database is also held.

Results: In the studied region, 5,793 out of 5,864 (98.79%) newborns received NHS in 2020. Of these, 120 (2.07%) were tested positive on their first screening. Ninety-four patients (78.3%) of those attended the ENT department for a first rescreening. Thirty-four patients (0.59% of total) were tested positive again and referred to the regional screening center. Out of the 27 patients who attended the second rescreening, four (0.07% of the total) were ultimately diagnosed with hearing impairment.

Conclusion: Our study found that newborn hearing screening (NHS) in our region achieved a high compliance rate of 98.8% for initial screenings in 2020. However, challenges remain in the rescreening process due to data management issues, inter-regional cooperation, and public awareness. The recent implementation of mandatory screenings, updated guidelines, and a centralized database is expected to enhance the effectiveness of NHS. Further research is needed to evaluate these improvements.

Keywords: Newborn; hearing loss treatment; hearing screening.

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Conflict of interest statement

All Authors declare no conflicts of interest in relation to this study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowchart of newborn audiology screening management.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Newborn hearing screening (NHS) results in regional screening center (RSC) in 2020.
Figure 3
Figure 3. The use of national database data for patient tracking across regions in cooperation with the Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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