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ABSTRACT. Using auditory brainstem response audiometry, we evaluated 34 congenital hypothyroidism children under thyroid hormone therapy and 24 age-and sexmatched controls between 5 and 12 yr of age. Two main auditory brainstem response abnormalities were encountered: first, prolonged wave I latencies, secondary to a peripheral impairment, were found in seven congenital hypothyroidism children (20%): three of these showed signs of serious otitis media, unilaterally in two and bilaterally in the other, at the time of the evaluation. Second, shortened I-V interpeak latencies were observed in 10 children (29%). No correlation was found between the interpeak latencies and the L-thyroxine serum values at the time of the test or just prior to treatment initiation. Also, there was no correlation with estimated bone age at treatment initiation or with the Griffiths global mental development quotients assessed at 5 yr of age. These preliminary results suggest a significant incidence of auditory brainstem response abnormalities in treated hypothyroid children. (Pediatr Res 20: 570-573,1986) Abbreviations ABR, auditory brainstem response CH, congenital hypothyroidism T4, L-thyroxine IPL, interpeak latencyThe mental prognosis of infants with CH is improved when treatment is initiated before 3 months of age (1, 2). Since the development of newborn hypothyroid screening, treatment usually is initiated before 2 months of age. Earlier data have suggested that even early treated children may manifest neuropsychological dysfunction which may handicap development (3, 4). Glorieux et al. (5), studying a group of 3-yr-old early treated CH children, observed a significant positive correlation between the individual Griffiths global quotients (Griffiths developmental test) (6) and either the serum T4 levels or bone age estimated just prior to treatment initiation. Furthermore, as early as 18 months of age, these children had lower scores in the hearing-speech Griffiths scale than a control group (7). In addition, there is a Received November 25, 1985; accepted February 11, 1986. well-known association between hearing loss and hypothyroidism (8-12). ABR audiometry has proven to be reliable for the assessment of the peripheral auditory function in very young children and for the follow-up of the central auditory pathway maturation (1 3-18). In the case of a child diagnosed as hypothyroid at 2 yr of age, Mendel and Robinson (19) reported that ABR audiometry results, together with speech and growth, were markedly improved after T4 replacement therapy had been initiated.In the present study, we used the ABR audiometry in CH children for two purposes: first, to look for an association between psychological and eventual electrophysiological abnormalities in CH children as an early indicator of infants at particular risk and, second, for the early detection of eventual hearing problems. Data obtained in the group of treated CH children between 5 and 12 yr old suggest a significant prevalence of ABR abnormalities. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe s...

To detect the eventual ototoxicity of aminoglycoside treatments in neonates, we compared brain stem response audiometry (BSRA) recordings in 15 neonates treated i.m. with either Gentamicin or Tobramycin at conventional dosages to those of 14 neonates used as a control group. All babies were housed in incubators and were comparable in gestational age (from 29 to 42 weeks). At day 0, BSRA did not significantly differ in the two groups, 90 dB latencies of the prominent wave V measured at 8.51 +/- 0.99 ms in the treated babies and 7.89 +/- 0.84 ms in the controls (p > 0.10), respectively. After 5 days of aminoglycoside treatment, the latencies of the wave V dwelled on 9.13 +/- 1.90 ms while remaining at 7.75 +/- 1.11 ms in the control group (p < 0.01). At day 10 latencies reached 8.73 +/- 1.47 ms in treated babies as compared t 7.31 +/- 1.06 ms in controls (p < 0.01).