PEDIATRICS Vol. 76 No. 3 September 1985, pp. 351-354
This Article
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 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 Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by de Vries, L. S.
Right arrow Articles by Dubowitz, L. M.S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by de Vries, L. S.
Right arrow Articles by Dubowitz, L. M.S.

Relationship of Serum Bilirubin Levels to Ototoxicity and Deafness in High-Risk Low-Birth-Weight Infants

L. S. de Vries MD1, S. Lary MB, ChB1, and L. M.S. Dubowitz MD, DCH1

1 From the Department of Paediatrics and Neonatal Medicine, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London

During a 4-year period, 12 premature infants, all less than 34 weeks of gestation and all with a bilirubin level above 240 µmol/L (14 mg/dL) were determined to have bilateral sensorineural deafness. In order to investigate how far the hyperbilirubinemia or any associated factor might have been a causative factor, all infants of 34 weeks of gestation or less who had a serum bilirubin level above 240 µmol/L were investigated. For a period of 4 years, 99 infants meeting these criteria were classified as high risk or low risk on the basis of perinatal risk factors. Eight of the 22 high-risk infants with birth weight less than 1,500 g, but only two of 43 high-risk infants with birth weight greater than 1,500 g were deaf (P < .05). The deaf infants were also matched with infants of normal hearing who had similar bilirubin levels and the same number of adverse perinatal factors. The mean duration of hyperbilirubinemia was significantly longer in the deaf infants (P < .02), and they appeared to have a greater number of acidotic episodes while they were hyperbilirubinemic. These findings suggest that in healthy preterm infants with birth weight greater than 1,500 g, high bilirubin levels carry little risk, whereas a serum bilirubin level greater than 240 µmol/L in highrisk preterm infants with birth weight of 1,500 g or less is associated with a high risk of deafness.

Key Words: low-birth-weight infants • hyperbilirubinemia • ototoxicity • deafness

Submitted on January 28, 1985
Accepted on April 16, 1985




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
R. P. Wennberg, C. E. Ahlfors, V. K. Bhutani, L. H. Johnson, and S. M. Shapiro
Toward Understanding Kernicterus: A Challenge to Improve the Management of Jaundiced Newborns
Pediatrics, February 1, 2006; 117(2): 474 - 485.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
P. Govaert, M. Lequin, R. Swarte, S. Robben, R. De Coo, N. Weisglas-Kuperus, Y. De Rijke, M. Sinaasappel, and J. Barkovich
Changes in Globus Pallidus With (Pre)Term Kernicterus
Pediatrics, December 1, 2003; 112(6): 1256 - 1263.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
W. Oh, J. E. Tyson, A. A. Fanaroff, B. R. Vohr, R. Perritt, B. J. Stoll, R. A. Ehrenkranz, W. A. Carlo, S. Shankaran, K. Poole, et al.
Association Between Peak Serum Bilirubin and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants
Pediatrics, October 1, 2003; 112(4): 773 - 779.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
S. B. Amin, C. Ahlfors, M. S. Orlando, L. E. Dalzell, K. S. Merle, and R. Guillet
Bilirubin and Serial Auditory Brainstem Responses in Premature Infants
Pediatrics, April 1, 2001; 107(4): 664 - 670.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
M. Hack, D. Wilson-Costello, H. Friedman, G. H. Taylor, M. Schluchter, and A. A. Fanaroff
Neurodevelopment and Predictors of Outcomes of Children With Birth Weights of Less Than 1000 g: 1992-1995
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, July 1, 2000; 154(7): 725 - 731.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed.Home page
E. S Marlow, L. P Hunt, and N. Marlow
Sensorineural hearing loss and prematurity
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed., March 1, 2000; 82(2): 141F - 144.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
R. D. Eavey, M. d. C. C. Bertero, A. R. Thornton, B. S. Herrmann, J. M. Joseph, R. E. Gliklich, K. S. Krishnamoorthy, and I. D. Todres
Failure to Clinically Predict NICU Hearing Loss
Clinical Pediatrics, March 1, 1995; 34(3): 138 - 145.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
S. M. Shapiro
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials in an Experimental Model of Bilirubin Neurotoxicity
Clinical Pediatrics, August 1, 1994; 33(8): 460 - 467.
[PDF]