Auditory and Language Development Assessment of Newborns Aged One to Four Years Exposed to Gestational Zika Virus Infection: A Case Series

Liora Gonik, Amanda Tupinambá da Fonseca Oliveira, Paula Silva de Carvalho Chagas and Jaqueline da Silva Frônio
Additional contact information
Liora Gonik: Graduate Program of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physical and Functional Performance, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36038-330, MG, Brazil
Amanda Tupinambá da Fonseca Oliveira: Graduate Program of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physical and Functional Performance, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36038-330, MG, Brazil
Paula Silva de Carvalho Chagas: Graduate Program of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physical and Functional Performance, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36038-330, MG, Brazil
Jaqueline da Silva Frônio: Graduate Program of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physical and Functional Performance, Faculty of Physiotherapy, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36038-330, MG, Brazil

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: The known neurotropism of the Zika virus (ZikV) suggests that auditory organs and their neural pathways may be affected by prenatal Zika infections. Among the possible manifestations are audiological and language disorders, but so far, the data in the literature are inconclusive. Objective: To describe early and late hearing disorders in children with Congenital Zika Virus Infection (CZVI) and evaluate the language development of this population between 14 and 47 months of age and its possible correlation with the alterations found in auditory exams. Methods: Longitudinal, prospective, observational study of newborns born in Juiz de Fora and its macroregion with confirmed diagnosis of ZikV infection during pregnancy. Participants were examined from one to four years of age for hearing using the transient otoacoustic emissions (TOAE) test, immittance testing and brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP), and language using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development—Third Edition (Bayley III). Results: 15 participants were included; eight (53.33%) presented alterations in at least one of the hearing tests, one had an early loss (6%) of sensorineural origin, and seven (46.67%) had a poor language performance. In the three (20%) participants whose audiological exams were altered, there was language impairment, and two (13.33%) participants had extensive malformations in the central nervous system (CNS), presented language delay, and hearing exams were within normality. Conclusion: Infants and preschoolers with CZVI may present early neurosensory loss and late hearing loss with fluctuating character. Even if there were no significant association between the audiological exams results and the Bayley III performance, in the present sample, language development was below expectations for the age in the participants who had alterations in the three audiological exams, when there is early hearing loss or extensive lesions to the CNS. The results reinforce the importance of audiological examinations, especially the BAEP morphological and auditory threshold, in monitoring cases of CZVI until at least three years of age.

Keywords: Zika virus; children’s language; hearing; hearing loss; child development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6562/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6562/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:12:p:6562-:d:577381

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().