1 NICU, Dona Estefânia Hospital, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
2 Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa;
3 NICU, Dona Estefânia Hospital,
4 ORL Department, Dona Estefânia Hospital
- The 21st European Workshop on Neonatology 2013, 15-18/11/2013.Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK
Introduction: Noise levels in NICU often exceeds recommend values and may cause hearing impairment (HI) in newborns.
Objective: to evaluate the level of noise that newborns are exposed to in NICU and determine if newborns under nCPAP have a greater risk of HI than other NICU babies.
Methods: Observational and case study. Noise levels were evaluated in NICU environment (EN), inside empty incubators (EI), inside incubators harboring non-ventilated newborns (NVN), during invasive ventilation (IV), and during nasal CPAP (nCPAP). Acustic otoemissions (AOE) were measured twice a day in 8 patients and automated ABR in 5.
Results: EN noise as well as noise inside EI often exceeded recommended levels; newborns under IV are submitted to 54dB noise levels and those in nCPAP to 64dB noise level. At the end of the study, two out of 8 patients had normal OAE; in one baby OAE were not present, but the presence of earwax could have influenced results; the other newborns never had normal OAE, making impossible to establish if any extra hearing impairment was developed. It was not possible to obtain ABR results in intensive care because of the high electromagnetic field. Other technical difficulties will be discussed.
Comments: New designs for nCPAP devices are needed, aiming to reduce noise level. Although the sample was too small, OAE doesn’t seem an appropriate test to evaluate noise related HI in NICU patients
Palavras-chave: Acuidade auditiva, CPAP nasal, ruído, unidades de cuidados intensivos neonatais.