Universal newborn hearing screening: a 27-month experience in the French region of Champagne-Ardenne.

OBJECTIVES: This article reports the creation of a Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) program in a French region, Champagne-Ardenne, and the results of its first 27 months.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We introduced a UNHS program in all the Champagne-Ardenne maternities in order to screen all newborns in the region. We used a two-step strategy. The first test consists of automated transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) and is performed before discharge by a nurse or a midwife. If TEOAE are absent in both ears (positive screening test), the baby is referred to the second test, which could be either TEOAE or automated auditory brainstem response (aABR) 15 days after discharge, by a physician in an outpatient clinic. If the retest is positive in both ears, the baby is referred to diagnostic tests in a reference centre. This procedure also applies to newborns in neonatal intensive care units but, in those cases, the first test procedure is aABR because of the higher incidence of auditory neuropathies in those units. UNHS data are recorded with the other neonatal screening tests in the Regional Neonatal Screening Center, which facilitates the follow-up of newborns.

RESULTS: A total of 33 873 newborns were screened, which represents a coverage rate of 92.42%. In those babies, 33 431 had a negative first test and 429 were retested. There were 34 positive retests. Among those 34 children, 27 were actually deaf (0.08%). The median age at diagnosis was shortened from 17 months to 10 weeks.

CONCLUSION: Those 27-month results demonstrate the validity of our UNHS program, which relies on the cooperation with maternities, an easy protocol and a strong follow-up procedure.