The British Columbia's Children's Hospital Tone-Evoked Auditory Brainstem Response Protocol: How Long Do Infants Sleep and How Much Information Can Be Obtained in One Appointment?

Abstract

In Brief There are few published reports providing quantitative information of clinical feasibility for tone-evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR) protocols. In this study, the authors reviewed charts of 188 ABR assessments during a 20-mo period: 116 sedated (median age, 23 mos) and 72 nonsedated (median age, 4 mos). Fifty-one percent of infants had normal thresholds. The average amount of sleep time was 58 mins for sedated assessments, during which an average of 7.6 measures were obtained; nonsedated assessments averaged 49 mins with 6.2 measures obtained. Thus, a substantial amount of both test time and information about hearing can be obtained within one ABR appointment. In this study, we reviewed charts of 188 tone-evoked ABR assessments over a 20-month period: 116 sedated (median age 23 months) and 72 non-sedated (median age 4 months). Fifty-one percent of infants had normal thresholds. The average amount of sleep time was 58 minutes for sedated assessments, during which an average of 7.6 measures were obtained; non-sedated assessments averaged 49 minutes with 6.2 measures obtained. Thus, a substantial amount of both test time and information about hearing can be obtained within one ABR appointment.