AB059. The clinical profile and factors influencing loss to follow-up on the use of repeat otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) among infants with refer results on newborn hearing screening at Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital

Objective: To determine the clinical profile and factors influencing loss to follow-up on the use of repeat otoacoustic emissions (OAE) and auditory brainstem response (ABR) among infants who obtained REFER results in newborn hearing screening using OAE born in Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital from January 2012-December 2013.

Methods and materials: Design: retrospective descriptive along with a structured interview. Setting: private tertiary hospital. Patients/participants: infants with REFER results in the newborn hearing screening were the subjects of this study. The mothers of these infants were then interviewed. Sixty-seven infants had REFER results. Only 43 (64%) of the subjects were recalled. Main outcome measure(s): factors influencing loss to follow-up.

Results: Majority of the babies who did not follow up after a failed screening test were term and of normal birth weight. The top three reasons given for failure to follow up were: the belief that their baby could hear (52%), no advice given (20%), and living far from the hospital (16%). For those who did not proceed with the ABR, the reasons for non-compliance were the assumption that their baby could hear (75%) and that they could not afford the testing fee (25%).

Conclusions: The top three reasons for poor compliance were the belief that their baby can hear, no advice given and living far from the hospital.

Keywords: Universal newborn hearing screening; otoacoustic emissions; loss to follow-up