Table 1.
Characteristics of the NICU infants in newborn hearing screening and the diagnosis of hearing loss.
| Variables | All Infants (n = 2404) |
Hearing Loss Group (n = 43) |
Control Group (n = 172) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender, male/female (% of male) | 1336/1066 (56) | 24/19 (55.8) | 103/69 (59.9) |
| Birth weight, kg, median (IQR) | 2.61 (2.00, 3.11) | 1.23 (0.99, 2.65) | 1.20 (0.99, 2.51) |
| Gestational weeks at birth, median (IQR) | 36.0 (33.0, 38.0) | 29.0 (27.0, 36.0) | 28.5 (27.0, 36.0) |
| Admission days of NICU, median (IQR) | 7.0 (5.0, 21.0) | 63.0 (14.0, 88.0) | 52.0 (7.0, 77.5) |
| NHS days after birth, median (IQR) | 6.0 (3.0, 18.0) | 55.0 (13.0, 77.0) | 44.5 (7, 77.5) |
| Passed infants no. (%) | 2227 (92.6) | 0 (0) | 172 (100) |
| Referred infants no. (%) | 177 (7.4) | 43 (100) | 0 (0) |
| Referred on both ears (%) | 77 (3.2) | 29 (67.4) | 0 |
| Referred on left ear only (%) | 46 (1.9) | 4 (9.3) | 0 |
| Referred on right ear only (%) | 54 (2.2) | 10 (23.3) | 0 |
| Diagnostic ABR infants no. | 60 | 43 | 0 |
| ABR days after birth, median (IQR) | 123.0 (59.5, 234.5) | 119 (64, 174) | 0 |
| ABR rate of referred infants, % | 33.9 | 100 | 0 |
| Follow-up loss rate, % | 66.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hearing loss infants no. (% of total no.) | 43 (1.8) | 43 (100) | 0 |
| Unilateral (% of total no.) | 17 (0.7) | 17 (36.5) | 0 |
| Bilateral (% of total no.) | 26 (1.1) | 26 (60.5) | 0 |
NICU: neonatal intensive care unit, NHS: newborn hearing screening, ABR: auditory brainstem response, IQR: interquartile range (quartile 1, quartile 3).