Raimundo Jheniffer Queiroz, Sanfins Milaine Dominici, Skarzynski Piotr Henryk, Skarżyńska Magdalena Beata, Colella-Santos Maria Francisca
School of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas, Campinas 13083-887, Brazil.
Department of Speech-Hearing-Language, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo 04044-020, Brazil.
Children (Basel). 2024 Dec 16;11(12):1527. doi: 10.3390/children11121527.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a new member of the coronavirus family. While respiratory transmission is the main route, concerns have arisen regarding possible vertical transmission, which refers to the transmission of the virus from mother to fetus through the dissemination of viral particles in the amniotic fluid. Fetal viral infection via the placenta can affect the formation of the auditory system and lead to congenital hearing disorders. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of vertical exposure to COVID-19 on the auditory system of newborns.
The study included a study group (SG) and a control group (CG). Selected during neonatal hearing screening, the SG consisted of 23 infants up to 1 year old whose mothers had been infected with SARS-CoV-2. The CG consisted of 15 infants whose mothers became pregnant after the end of the pandemic, had tested negative for COVID-19, and had no respiratory symptoms during pregnancy. The assessments for both groups were brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), tympanometry, transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). The research was divided into two studies, one cross-sectional and the other longitudinal.
All participants exhibited absolute latencies within the normal range for waves I, III, and V, although in the SG, there was a statistically significant increase in the latency of wave I in the left ear. In terms of OAEs, in the SG, there appeared to be a tendency for TEOAEs to be absent at high frequencies. Over several months, there was a general decrease in the amplitude of high-frequency responses in both TEOAEs and DPOAEs.
No evidence was found that vertical exposure to COVID-19 causes hearing loss, although there were signs of possible deterioration in hair cell functioning.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的一种传染病，SARS-CoV-2是冠状病毒家族的一个新成员。虽然呼吸道传播是主要途径，但人们对可能的垂直传播产生了担忧，垂直传播是指病毒通过羊水传播从母亲传给胎儿。经胎盘的胎儿病毒感染会影响听觉系统的形成并导致先天性听力障碍。本研究的目的是调查垂直暴露于COVID-19对新生儿听觉系统的影响。
该研究包括一个研究组（SG）和一个对照组（CG）。在新生儿听力筛查期间进行选择，研究组由23名1岁以下的婴儿组成，他们的母亲感染了SARS-CoV-2。对照组由15名婴儿组成，他们的母亲在疫情结束后怀孕，COVID-19检测呈阴性，且在怀孕期间没有呼吸道症状。两组的评估项目均为脑干听觉诱发电位（BAEP）、鼓室导抗图、瞬态诱发耳声发射（TEOAE）和畸变产物耳声发射（DPOAE）。该研究分为两项研究，一项是横断面研究，另一项是纵向研究。
所有参与者的I、III和V波绝对潜伏期均在正常范围内，尽管在研究组中，左耳I波潜伏期在统计学上有显著增加。在耳声发射方面，在研究组中，高频TEOAE似乎有缺失的趋势。在几个月的时间里，TEOAE和DPOAE的高频反应幅度普遍下降。
没有发现证据表明垂直暴露于COVID-19会导致听力损失，尽管有迹象表明毛细胞功能可能恶化。
