Costs of different strategies for neonatal hearing screening: a modelling approach.

Objective: To compare the cost effectiveness of various strategies for neonatal hearing screening by estimating the cost per hearing impaired child detected.

Design: Cost analyses with a simulation model, including a multivariate sensitivity analysis. Comparisons of the cost per child detected were made for: screening method (automated auditory brainstem response or otoacoustic emissions); number of stages in the screening process (two or three); target disorder (bilateral hearing loss or both unilateral and bilateral loss); location (at home or at a child health clinic).

Setting: The Netherlands

Target Population: All newborn infants not admitted to neonatal intensive care units.

Main Outcome Measure: Costs per child detected with a hearing loss of 40 dB or more in the better ear.

Results: Costs of a three stage screening process in child health clinics are 39.0 pounds (95% confidence interval 20.0 to 57.0) per child detected with automated auditory brainstem response compared with 25.0 (14.4 to 35.6) pounds per child detected with otoacoustic emissions. A three stage screening process not only reduces the referral rates, but is also likely to cost less than a two stage process because of the lower cost of diagnostic facilities. The extra cost (over and above a screening programme detecting bilateral losses) of detecting one child with unilateral hearing loss is 1500-4000 pounds. With the currently available information, no preference can be expressed for a screening location.

Conclusions: Three stage screening with otoacoustic emissions is recommended. Whether screening at home is more cost effective than screening at a child health clinic needs further study.