Newborn hearing screening programme in Belgium: a consensus recommendation on risk factors

BMC Pediatrics

Table 2 Level of the quality of evidence and strength of the recommendation for each risk factor

Risk factor	Quality of evidence	Strength of recommendation
Congenital cytomegalovirus	High	Strong
Congenital toxoplasmosis	High	Strong
Congenital syphilis	High	Strong
Congenital rubella	High	Strong
Congenital herpes	Very low	Strong^a
Family history of hearing loss	Moderate	Strong
Consanguinity	Moderate	Strong
Malformations and syndromes associated with hearing loss	High	Strong
Malformations of the pinnae (isolated)	Low	Weak
Maternal intoxication: foetal alcohol syndrome	Moderate	Strong
Maternal intoxication: drug abuse	Very low	Strong^a
Very low birth weight	Very low	Strong
Birth asphyxia/Apgar score	Low	Strong
Hyperbilirubinaemia	Moderate	Strong
Neonatal intensive care unit stay	Very low	Weak
Assisted ventilation	Very low	Weak
Ototoxic drugs: aminoglycosides	Very low	Weak
Ototoxic drugs: loop diuretics	Very low	Weak
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation	Moderate	Strong
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia	Very low	--^b
Inhaled nitric oxide	Very low	--^b
Neurologic disease: meningitis	Moderate	Strong^c
Neurologic disease: intraventricular haemorrhage	Very low	Weak
Congenital hypothyroidism	Moderate	Strong

^aStrongly recommended to not consider this as a risk factor for hearing loss
^bThe panel decided to formulate no specific recommendation; because of the medical condition, ventilation will be performed (see recommendation for assisted ventilation)
^cOn the basis of their clinical experience, the panel decided to recommend an audiological assessment for newborns who need a neurologic consultation (e.g., convulsion, hypotonia, swallowing/feeding difficulties, or cranial nerve palsy)

ISSN: 1471-2431