Early Identification of Hearing Loss and Language Development at 32 Months of Age.

This study examines the relationship between the early identification of hearing loss and language outcomes for deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH) children, with bilateral or unilateral hearing loss and with or without additional disabilities. It was hypothesized that hearing loss identified by 3 months of age would be associated with better language outcomes. Using a prospective, longitudinal design, 86 families completed developmental instruments at two time points: at an average age of 14.

The Association Between Congenital Heart Disease and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is linked to an increased incidence of neurodevelopmental impairments in young patients. Given the number of published studies on this topic, a synthesis of the literature is timely and needed. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the medical literature to assess the evidence linking CHD to incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Frequency of Early Intervention Sessions and Vocabulary Skills in Children with Hearing Loss.

Background: A primary goal of early intervention is to assist children in achieving age-appropriate language skills. The amount of intervention a child receives is ideally based on his or her individual needs, yet it is unclear if language ability impacts amount of intervention and/or if an increased frequency of intervention sessions results in better outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the frequency of early intervention sessions and vocabulary outcomes in young children with hearing loss.

Audiologist Perception on Reporting Hearing Assessment Results to State Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs.

Purpose: To describe an evaluation conducted by 39 state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs on the reporting process and system usability for audiologists when reporting the hearing test results to the EHDI program and the barriers encountered during reporting.

Method: Each author independently extracted numbers, percentages, and texts from the evaluation reports into an Excel spreadsheet, which then became the dataset. Authors then compared and cross-checked the datasets before coding.

Late-onset Hearing Loss From Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection After Newborn Period in a Highly Immune Population in China.

After following 141 children with likely asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection in a highly immune population in China, four children (2.8%) were found to have late-onset hearing loss. No maternal or childhood factors, except higher saliva cytomegalovirus viral load at birth (P = 0.

Early Intervention, Parent Talk, and Pragmatic Language in Children With Hearing Loss.

Background And Objectives: Pragmatic language skills form the foundation for conversational competence, whereas deficits in this area are associated with behavioral problems and low literacy skills. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing demonstrate significant delays in this critical area of language. Our purpose with this research was to identify variables associated with pragmatic language ability in children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Private Insurance Reimbursements for Newborn Hearing Screening in the United States, 2013-2014 Birth Cohort.

The purpose of this study was to describe private insurance reimbursements for newborn hearing screening (NBHS) in the United States. Data from the MarketScan® Commercial Databases were used to estimate itemized reimbursements for privately insured infants born between January 1, 2013-December 31, 2014. Estimates were based on billed claims for hearing screening services during infancy among 456,407 infants with birth hospitalization claims (71,820 infants with inpatient NBHS and 1,104 infants with outpatient NBHS).

Middle Ear Effusion in Children With Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection.

Background: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is well described in children with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, but limited data are available on middle ear effusion (MEE) occurrence in this population. We assessed the prevalence of MEE and the degree of transient hearing change associated with MEE among children with congenital CMV infection.

Methods: Children with congenital CMV infection enrolled in a longitudinal study received hearing and tympanometric testing during scheduled follow-up visits annually up to 6 years of age.

Should You Follow the Better-Hearing Ear for Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection and Isolated Sensorineural Hearing Loss?

Objective: To describe the progression of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in the better- and poorer-hearing ears in children with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection with isolated SNHL.

Study Design: Longitudinal prospective cohort study.

Setting: Tertiary medical center.

Improving Children's cancer pain management in the home setting: Development and formative evaluation of a web-based program for parents.

Background And Methods: Despite advances in health care, the majority of children undergoing cancer treatment experience pain, particularly in the home setting. Mobile health tools provide a promising avenue to deliver pain management education and information to parents of children receiving cancer treatment. The current study describes the development and formative evaluation of a novel intervention, Cancer-Tailored Intervention for Pain and Symptoms (C-TIPS), which provides empirically-based pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management information and coping skills training to parents of pediatric cancer patients.

Hearing Trajectory in Children with Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection.

Objectives To compare hearing trajectories among children with symptomatic and asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection through age 18 years and to identify brain abnormalities associated with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in asymptomatic case patients. Study Design Longitudinal prospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary medical center.

Valganciclovir Use Among Commercially and Medicaid-insured Infants With Congenital CMV Infection in the United States, 2009-2015.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical characteristics and trends in valganciclovir use among infants diagnosed with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in the United States.

Methods: We analyzed data from medical claims dated 2009-2015 from the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters and Medicaid databases. We identified infants with a live birth code in the first claim who were continuously enrolled for at least 45 days.

Restructuring Data Reported from Jurisdictional Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Programs: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To assess the feasibility, benefits, and challenges surrounding individual-level versus aggregate data reporting by jurisdictional EHDI programs to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Method: Using data reported to CDC by three jurisdictions in 2011, descriptive statistics were used to assess the feasibility of collecting and reporting individual-level data. Comparisons were made on what can be learned from individual-level data as opposed to CDC's aggregate survey data.

From Pulmonary Surfactant, Synthetic KL4 Peptide as Effective siRNA Delivery Vector for Pulmonary Delivery.

Pulmonary delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) has huge potential for the treatment of a wide range of respiratory diseases. The ability of naked siRNA to transfect cells in the lungs without a delivery vector has prompted the investigation of whether an endogenous component is at least partially responsible for the cellular uptake of siRNA, and whether a safe and efficient delivery system could be developed from this component to further improve the transfection efficiency. Surfactant protein B (SP-B), a positively charged protein molecule found in lung surfactant, is one of the possible candidates.

Early Hearing Detection and Vocabulary of Children With Hearing Loss.

Background And Objectives: To date, no studies have examined vocabulary outcomes of children meeting all 3 components of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) guidelines (hearing screening by 1 month, diagnosis of hearing loss by 3 months, and intervention by 6 months of age). The primary purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of the current EHDI 1-3-6 policy on vocabulary outcomes across a wide geographic area. A secondary goal was to confirm the impact of other demographic variables previously reported to be related to language outcomes.

Reporting Newborn Audiologic Results to State EHDI Programs.

Objectives: All US states and territories have an Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program to facilitate early hearing evaluation and intervention for infants who are deaf or hard of hearing. To ensure efficient coordination of care, the state EHDI programs rely heavily on audiologists' prompt reporting of a newborn's hearing status. Several states have regulations requiring mandatory reporting of a newborn's hearing status.

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention-Pediatric Audiology Links to Services EHDI-PALS: Building a National Facility Database.

Objectives: To create a searchable web-based national audiology facility directory using a standardized survey, so parents and providers could identify which facilities had capacity to provide appropriate services based on child's age.

Design: An Early Hearing Detection and Intervention-Pediatric Audiology Links to Services expert panel was convened to create a survey to collect audiology facility information. Professional practice documents were reviewed, a survey was designed to collect pertinent test protocols of each audiology facility, and a standard of care template was created to cross-check survey answers.

Hearing Loss in Children With Asymptomatic Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence, characteristics, and risk of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection identified through hospital-based newborn screening who were asymptomatic at birth compared with uninfected children.

Methods: We included 92 case-patients and 51 controls assessed by using auditory brainstem response and behavioral audiometry. We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to estimate the prevalence of SNHL, defined as ≥25 dB hearing level at any frequency and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses to compare SNHL risk between groups.

Pain buddy: A novel use of m-health in the management of children's cancer pain.

Background: Over 12,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States. In addition to symptoms associated with their disease, children undergoing chemotherapy frequently experience significant pain, which is unfortunately often undertreated. The field of m-Health offers an innovative avenue for pain assessment and intervention in the home setting.

Psychosocial Interventions for Youth With Bipolar Disorders: Combining Clinicians' and Caregivers' Perspectives.

Despite efforts that have been made to develop and evaluate psychosocial interventions for youth with bipolar spectrum disorders (BPSDs), there has been limited evidence regarding treatment delivery and consumer experiences in clinical settings. Two parallel web-based surveys were conducted to assess clinicians' experiences with providing psychosocial treatments to youth with BPSD, and caregivers' experiences with accessing and receiving care for their youth with BSPD. Clinicians who were members of the American Psychological Association's Division 53 listserv were invited to report on (1) their training in and knowledge of BPSD among youth; (2) types of treatments they had provided and their perceived effectiveness; (3) treatment-related challenges; and (4) further training opportunities or resources they desire.

Newborn oto-acoustic emission hearing screening tests: preliminary evidence for a marker of susceptibility to SIDS.

Objective: To evaluate the newborn transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) hearing screening tests of infants later diagnosed with the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Study Design: In a case-controlled study, the newborn TEOAE hearing screens of 31 infants who subsequently died of SIDS were retrospectively compared to those of 31 newborn infants that survived the first year of life. SIDS cases were individually matched to surviving controls based on gender, term versus preterm age and NICU versus well baby nursery.