Hearing evaluation in preeclamptic pregnants and neonatal hearing screening

• Grant number: 23/04669-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Fernando Manzoni Lourencone
• Grantee: Julia Tres
• Host Institution: Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais (HRAC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a gestational hypertensive syndrome that can impair cochlear functions due to vasospasm, endothelial dysfunction, and ischemia. Preeclampsia is associated with a higher rate of preterm births and fetal complications due to prematurity. Hearing disorders in early childhood may be associated with intrauterine and neonatal complications, such as prematurity and asphyxia. However, the association between preeclampsia and congenital hearing loss has not yet been extensively studied. Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the association between preeclampsia and subclinical hearing loss in pregnant women, as well as its association with hearing loss in newborns whose mothers had preeclampsia, in comparison with neonates of healthy mothers. Methodology: The study will be a prospective case-control study, with pregnant women with preeclampsia as the study group and normotensive pregnant women as the control group. The selected participants will undergo audiological and electrophysiological hearing tests during the third trimester of pregnancy and during the puerperium (up to six weeks after delivery). The results of hearing screening in the newborns of all participating pregnant women will also be collected. Data analysis: The data obtained will be subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical treatment. The normality of data analysis will determine the parametric or non-parametric hypothesis tests to be used, with a p-value of 0.05% and 80% test power.