Résumé

Background: Neonatal deafness (ND) is a public health issue with significant repercussions on the social, educational, and biological development of children. When undetected, it can impact social integration, language acquisition, and cognitive development. Determining the prevalence and associated factors of ND is crucial to establishing early screening and tailored interventions. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of neonatal deafness in three reference hospitals in the city of Douala. Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study over a period of 4 months within the maternity and neonatology units of three reference hospitals in Douala, recruiting a total of 457 newborns. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected using a survey form. The diagnosis of neonatal deafness was based on the detection of evoked otoacoustic emissions (EOAE), followed by a confirmatory diagnostic test using auditory brainstem response (ABR). Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify factors associated with neonatal deafness. Results: Of the births, 219 were female (47.92%) and 238 were male (52.07%), yielding a sex ratio of 1.08. The average duration of amenorrhea was 38 ± 19 weeks, the mean birth weight was 3.1 ± 0.5 kg, and the average age at first screening was 6.9 ± 4.6 days. The prevalence of neonatal deafness was 0.21%, or 2.1 per 1000 births. Factors associated with neonatal deafness included a hospital stay of more than 2 days (aOR = 2.63, p = 0.001***) and dependence on oxygen therapy (aOR = 4.32, p = 0.004***). Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of strengthening early neonatal deafness screening and targeting interventions for at-risk newborns to minimise the impact of deafness on their development.

Mot-clés :

Neonatal Deafness, Prevalence, Associated Factors, Early Screening