Selective Inner Hair Cell Loss in Premature Infants and Cochlea Pathological Patterns From Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Autopsies

摘要: Background Deafness and handicapping sensorineural hearing impairment occur frequently in neonatal intensive care unit survivors for unknown reasons. Patients Methods Hearing was tested early repeatedly patients with an auditory brainstem response (ABR) screener. The temporal bones of 15 nonsurvivors (30 ears) were fixed promptly (average, 5 hours) after death histological evaluation. Results Among these patients, 12 failed the ABR screen bilaterally, 1 passed unilaterally, 2 bilaterally. Cochlear histopathologic conditions that could contribute to loss included bilateral selective outer hair cell inner 3 (all premature), a combination both 2. Other abnormalities noted; infants who had demonstrated normal features. Neuronal counts normal. Conclusions Auditory failure among died extremely common part owing unexpected alteration, premature newborns, should be detectable uniquely by testing method. Additional patterns suggest more than one cause loss. Hair seem compatible utero damage.