Brainstem auditory-evoked responses in full-term newborn infants with temporary low Apgar score.

CONCLUSIONS

No abnormalities, with the exception of maturational changes, in BAER were found during the neonatal period. The results suggest that a temporary low Apgar score is not accompanied by any significant auditory impairment.

OBJECTIVE

To examine brainstem auditory function in newborn infants with a temporary low Apgar score but no clinical signs of hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The subjects were 36 full-term infants with Apgar scores of < or =7 at 1 and/or 5 min and > or =8 at 10 min but without HIE. The brainstem auditory-evoked response (BAER) was serially recorded at click rates of 21, 51 and 91/s on Days 1, 3, 5, 7 and 30 after birth.

RESULTS

On Day 1 and Days 3-5, the latencies of waves I, III and V tended to increase slightly at all click rates but did not differ significantly from normal control values. Thereafter, all latencies tended to decrease, reaching control values on Day 30. The I-V interval was similar to the control values at all click rates during the first 5 days, tended to decrease from Day 7 and did not differ from the control values on Day 30. There were no significant changes in BAER wave amplitudes at any of the click rates on any day.