Perinatal Risk Factors in Cochlear Implant Candidates: An Egyptian Sample

Background: The rate of admission to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) has increased in the past few years. There also has been an improvement regarding the outcome of these NICUs which include a decreased infant mortality rate. However, the impact of these innovative interventions must be reviewed for causality. Several studies have attributed the presence of sensori- neural hearing loss (SNHL) from birth to early childhood to problems related to the birth process. As the burden of hearing impairment falls on the future of the child, it is crucial to investigate the association of adverse perinatal conditions with such a problem.

Objective: To identify the most significant perinatal risk factor among children with severe to profound SNHL who were candidates for cochlear implantation.

Methods: A retrospective study of perinatal risk factors in a group of 129 children (71 males & 58 females) with mean age 61.49 months, who were implemented in the cochlear implant program in one of the Egyptian centers. The assessment protocol included a clinical interview with the child`s parent and focused on personal history as well as the history of the perinatal period.

Results: Positive consanguinity was found in 29.5% of cases in whom 51.3% also had a positive family history in other siblings. NICU graduates accounted for 11.6% of cases in which 46.6% had neonatal jaundice, 26.6% had +ve consanguinity and 13.3% had cyanosis.

Conclusion: Among the cochlear implant candidates the most common identified perinatal risk factor was NICU admission, mostly due to neonatal jaundice. In 39.5% of the sample perinatal risk could not be identified. These findings highlight the cost- effectiveness of the universal neonatal hearing screening (UNHS) that is not yet implemented in our country.