Association between mode of delivery and failure of neonatal acoustic emission test: a retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND

Infants born by cesarean delivery (CD) appear to fail the otoacoustic emission (OAE) test more frequently than infants delivered vaginally (VD).

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of CD on failure to the OAE test in Chinese infants.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 1460 Chinese infants were included. The OAE test was performed before hospital discharge. Modes of delivery, test time and OAE results were collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

Compared with VD infants, CD infants had lower gestational age (week), were smaller for their gestational age (SGA), and presented a lower 1-min Apgar score and a younger age at first OAE. On multivariate analysis, CD and age at first OAE were significantly associated with failed OAE (both P<0.001). CD infants had a 3-fold higher rate of failure to the OAE test compared with VD infants (21% vs. 7.1%). The results of the OAE test changed with different test time regardless of the mode of delivery, and the neonatal OAE test failure rate decreased with time. The difference was not significant between CD and VD infants 42h or more after delivery.

CONCLUSION

CD infants had significantly higher failure rates on first OAE test. Results suggest that the OAE test should be performed 42h after delivery so as to minimize repetition of OAE, improve the OAE test pass rate, and minimize costs and parents' anxiety.