Auditory brainstem responses in children with congenital heart disease

Background: Cyanotic congenital heart diseases usually lead to growth and d evelopmental delay in children due to chronic hypoxemia and undernourishmen t that may affect the central nervous system. The auditory brainstem respon ses are determined to assess the maturation and function of the brainstem. Therefore, we used the auditory brainstem responses to investigate the effe ct of cyanotic congenital heart diseases on brainstem maturation. Methods: The auditory brainstem responses were investigated in 45 children (23 cyanotic, 22 acyanotic) with congenital heart diseases and compared wit h the results of 30 healthy counterparts (all children were aged between 2 months and 15 years). Results: The results of auditory brainstem responses were similar in acyano tic patients and in normal children. The cyanotic patients under 1 year of age had more prolonged I-V interpeak latencies than those of control and ac yanotic patients (P < 0.05). There was no difference between all groups old er than 1 year of age. In cyanotic children, I-V interpeak latencies showed significant negative correlation with arterial oxygen saturation and parti al oxygen pressure (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Cyanotic congenital heart diseases may cause significant retar dation on brainstem maturation due to chronic hypoxemia, especially in infa nts under 1 year of age, whereas acyanotic congenital heart diseases have n o effect on auditory brainstem responses.