One year outcome of babies with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and reversible abnormality in brainstem auditory evoked responses

Brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAER) were longitudinally recorded prospectively in 18 term infants with neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NHB) (total serum bilirubin > 15 mg/dl). Seven neonates had abnormal BAER. Wave complex IV-V was absent in eight recordings in NHB group while they were normal in the control group (p < 0.001). Prolongation of latency of waves I and V and interwave conduction time (wave I-V) occurred in jaundiced infants especially when unconjugated serum bilirubin level rose above 22 mg/dl. The abnormalities in BAER reversed to normal in all seven neonates after exchange blood transfusion indicating transient nature of bilirubin toxicity to the brain. All seven neonates in the study and control group had normal hearing, development quotient and were free of neurological sequelae on follow up for one year