Comparative ABR profile in high risk infants.

Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were studied in 52 children upto the age of 3 months, suffering from neonatal jaundice, prematurity, pyogenic meningitis and septicemia. Absolute latency of wave I and interpeak latency I-V were found to be significantly delayed in cases of jaundice and absolute latency of wave V and interpeak latency I-V were prolonged in cases with prematurity. In cases following pyogenic meningitis absolute latency of wave V and interpeak latency of I-III, I-V were significantly delayed compared to septicemia where absolute latency I, V and interpeak latency I-V were significantly delayed (P < 0.05). Maximum auditory insult was seen in cases with neonatal jaundice where 30.77% each had severe SN deafness and 30.77% had moderate degree of deafness compared to prematurity, meningitis and septicemia where 14.28, 7.69 and 25% were found to have severe SN deafness and 7.14, 38.46 and 25% had moderate deafness. Overall incidence of deafness of any kind in these factors was 44.23%.