This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Koomen, I.
Right arrow Articles by van Furth, A. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Koomen, I.
Right arrow Articles by van Furth, A. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Infectious Disease & Immunity
Right arrowRelated AAP Red Book topics:
Haemophilus influenzae Infections
PEDIATRICS Vol. 112 No. 5 November 2003, pp. 1049-1053

Hearing Loss at School Age in Survivors of Bacterial Meningitis: Assessment, Incidence, and Prediction

Irene Koomen, MD*,{ddagger}, Diederick E. Grobbee, MD, PhD{ddagger}, John J. Roord, MD, PhD*, Rogier Donders, PhD{ddagger},§, Aag Jennekens-Schinkel, PhD|| and A. M. van Furth, MD, PhD*

* Department of Pediatrics, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
{ddagger} Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
§ Center of Biostatistics, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
|| Division of Neuropsychology, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands

Objectives. To establish the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in children who survived non–Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) bacterial meningitis, to highlight the actual percentage whose hearing was evaluated, and to develop a prediction rule to identify those who are at risk of hearing loss.

Methods. In 1999, we compiled a cohort of 628 school-aged children who were born between January 1986 and December 1994 and had survived non-Hib bacterial meningitis between January 1990 and December 1995. Presence of sensorineural hearing loss (>25 dB) was determined, based on information from questionnaires and medical records. Potential risk factors for hearing loss were obtained from medical records; independent predictors were identified using multivariate logistic regression analysis, leading to the formulation of a prediction rule.

Results. The incidence of hearing loss was 7%. The hearing of 68% of the children was evaluated as part of their routine follow-up after bacterial meningitis, resulting in the detection of 75% of the cases of hearing loss. The remaining 25% were detected after this follow-up had ended. Using a prediction rule based on 5 factors—duration of symptoms before admission >2 days, absence of petechiae, cerebrospinal fluid glucose level ≤0.6 mmol/L, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and ataxia—62% of the postmeningitic children were selected as being at risk. All cases of hearing loss were in this at-risk group.

Conclusions. Hearing loss can be predicted satisfactorily. When the hearing of children who are predicted to be at risk is tested as part of their routine follow-up, no children with hearing loss need be missed.

Key Words: bacterial meningitis • cohort study • hearing assessment • hearing impairment • prediction

Abbreviations: Hib, Haemophilus influenzae type B • CSF, cerebrospinal fluid • AUC, area under the curve

Received for publication Dec 9, 2002; Accepted Jul 7, 2003.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
F. Declau, A. Boudewyns, J. Van den Ende, A. Peeters, and P. van den Heyning
Etiologic and Audiologic Evaluations After Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening: Analysis of 170 Referred Neonates
Pediatrics, June 1, 2008; 121(6): 1119 - 1126.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 AAP Grand RoundsHome page
J. G. Millichap
Risk of Hearing Loss After Bacterial Meningitis
AAP Grand Rounds, February 1, 2004; 11(2): 17 - 18.
[Full Text] [PDF]