Figure 1. Euler diagram estimating the number of presumed healthy newborns. In the perinatal care system of the Kochi Prefecture, all premature newborns are admitted to one of three hospitals with NICUs almost without exception. In most cases, pregnant women are referred to these hospitals if the physician predicts premature birth. Thus, the newborns receiving a hearing screening and not admitted to the NICU are presumed to be healthy. Hence, subtracting the number of newborns screened in the NICU from the total number of newborns screened excludes premature newborns and estimates the number of healthy newborns.
Abbreviations: NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; NHS, newborn hearing screening.
From: Screening Newborns for Hearing Loss under Full Public Funding, Kochi, Japan -Differences in the Screening Results between Premature Neonates and Healthy Newborns
Figure 2. Newborn hearing screening results. Of all newborns in the Kochi Prefecture, 12872 received a hearing screening, and 21 did not. The NHS test results are classified as “pass” or “refer.” Overall, 12477 received the pass result and 374 were referred for first screenings; 368 newborns underwent rescreening (21 did not), resulting in 266 passes and 102 referrals. Overall, 0.79% of newborns required diagnostic examination.
1) The proportion of first screenings referred for rescreening.
2) The proportion of rescreenings referred for diagnostic examination.
3) The proportion of first and rescreenings conducted that were also referred by rescreenings.
From: Screening Newborns for Hearing Loss under Full Public Funding, Kochi, Japan -Differences in the Screening Results between Premature Neonates and Healthy Newborns
