Volunteer-based universal newborn hearing screening program

Objective: To evaluate efficacy and costs of a volunteer-based universal ne wborn hearing screening program. Methods: The Lucile Packard Children's Hos pital at Stanford newborn hearing screening program database was reviewed. Results and costs of the hearing screens were analyzed. Results: Hearing sc reens were performed on 5771 newborns treated in the well-baby nursery and nine infants from this population were identified with hearing loss, seven of whom had no risks factors for hearing loss. Using volunteers to perform the first-line screen with the automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) technology, 91% of infants registered for screening were evaluated prior t o discharge. An additional 4% of infants were screened as outpatients. If a n infant failed the AABR on two occasions, he or she was rescreened with th e AABR or transient evoked otoacoustic emissions by a licensed audiologist, often while the infant was still in the hospital. Using this algorithm, 5% of infants tested in the well-baby nursery needed additional follow-up as an outpatient. Cost analysis of this volunteer-based program reveals a per/ baby screening cost of $27.41. Conclusions: A volunteer-based hearing scree ning program is a viable option for hearing screening in well-baby nurserie s but does not result in significant cost savings during the first 2 years of the program. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.