evaluation of auditory brainstem pathways in neonates with respiratory distress syndrome

background and aim: respiratory distress syndrome (rds) is a lung disorder, which can damage the auditory brainstem pathways because of hypoxia. the aim of this study was to evaluate brainstem auditory electrophysiology changes of neonates with rds. methods: fifteen term neonates who suffered from rds, 15 term neonates admitted in the nicu for any reason except rds, and 15 normal term neonates as control group were studied from june to november 2014. auditory brainstem response (abr) was recorded by clicks, delivered at 80 dbnhl, the polarity was alternative, the band pass filter and the time window were 50-2000 hz and 15ms with total 2000 sweeps, respectively. data were analyzed by anova and paired t-test using ssps18. results: the absolute latencies of waves i, iii, v and i-iii, i-v intervals of both ear in rds group and the participants admitted in nicu were significantly longer than controls (p=0.00). conclusion: hypoxia and asphyxia due to rds can damage the auditory brainstem pathways in neonatal period; additionally, the neonates who were admitted in nicu are also at the risk of auditory brainstem deficit. the findings shed light on the importance of assessing the auditory brainstem function in neonates who had rds and who were admitted in nicu.