Implementation of Updated Hearing Screen Guidelines in a Level IV NICU-A Quality Improvement Project.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2019
Identifier
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1668170
Abstract
Hearing loss is the most common congenital birth defect. In 2007, American Academy of Pediatrics updated the hearing screen guidelines to recommend hearing screen by 1 month of age, diagnostic evaluation by 3 months, and early interventions by 6 months. Early interventions have been shown to improve developmental outcome in children with hearing loss. Infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at higher risk for hearing loss. For infants born before 34 weeks' gestation, there are no guidelines for initial hearing screen. Although auditory brain stem response can be reliably performed at 32 to 34 weeks, in most NICUs, they are screened prior to discharge per universal hearing screen guidelines. In high-risk infants, often with prolonged hospitalization, this leads to missed opportunity for early detection and implementation of early intervention services. Using quality improvement methodology, an updated hearing screen algorithm was developed and implemented in our level IV NICU along with an electronic medical record tool to improve the process of identifying infants meeting criteria for hearing screen.
Journal Title
American journal of perinatology
Volume
36
Issue
3
First Page
296
Last Page
302
MeSH Keywords
Guideline Adherence; Hearing Disorders; Hearing Tests; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Infant, Premature, Diseases; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; Missouri; Neonatal Screening; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Quality Improvement
Keywords
Hearing Disorders; Hearing Tests; Neonatal Screening
Recommended Citation
George L, Patel JB, Park N, Manimtim WM. Implementation of Updated Hearing Screen Guidelines in a Level IV NICU-A Quality Improvement Project. Am J Perinatol. 2019;36(3):296-302. doi:10.1055/s-0038-1668170
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