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Objectives: We sought to understand auditory skills outcomes in young children with cochlear implants and developmental delay. Methods: Children who received cochlear implants at less than 36 months of age were identified via chart review. Their postimplant auditory skills outcomes were measured with the Auditory Skills Checklist. Results: Of 35 children who received cochlear implants before the age of 36 months, 14 children (40%) had additional disabilities or some form of developmental delay. The 12-month postimplant data indicated progress in all groups of children. Children with additional disabilities had the same rate of auditory skills progress as children with no additional disabilities (β = 9.3 versus 9.3; p = 0.5). However, the children with additional disabilities tended to start at a lower baseline skills set (approximately 6 points lower) on the Auditory Skills Checklist. For children with average developmental quotients (at least 80), the rate of progress was twice that of children with a developmental quotient of less than 80, irrespective of a developmental disability (β = 9.9 versus 4.8; p = 0.03). Children with a developmental quotient of less than 80 were less likely to gain skills in discrimination and identification after the first postimplant year. Conclusions: Children with additional disabilities make progress in auditory skills, but may not develop higher auditory skills of identification and comprehension within the first 6 months after implantation. Categorizing children according to a cognitive developmental quotient may provide more predictive ability than does categorizing them by disability type.

Objectives:The Auditory Skills Checklist© (ASC) was developed to address the need for tools to evaluate functional auditory skill progress in very young children with sensorineural hearing loss. We describe the development, validation, and utility of the ASC for use in young children with cochlear implants.Methods:Using the ASC, we measured auditory skills in 37 subjects who received cochlear implants at no more than 36 months of age. Repeated measures analysis was conducted to determine expected auditory skill development after implantation. Interrater reliability was tested on a small subset. The ASC was compared to the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) to determine its validity in measuring functional auditory skills.Results:The ASC had excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha, 0.98) and interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.99), and was highly correlated with the IT-MAIS (r = 0.90). According to the repeated measures analysis, children who received a cochlear implant at 36 months of age or earlier were expected to increase their ASC score by 8 points every 3 months (beta coefficient, 8.3; p < .001).Conclusions:The ASC is a clinically relevant and easily administered tool for assessing the functional auditory skills of young children with a cochlear implant. By assessing auditory skill development over time with the ASC, we can better realize expectations for a particular child based on his or her age, hearing loss level, and management strategies in place.

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is a common cause of neurological complications resulting in chronic handicapping conditions, such as cerebral palsy. Amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (EEG) has been used in many European countries for more than a decade in the evaluation of infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy but has not been widely used in the United States. The objective of this study was to evaluate the evidence supporting use of amplitude-integrated EEG as a quantitative predictor of neurodevelopmental outcome in full-term infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. To assess efficacy, the authors performed a meta-analysis of the literature evaluating the use of the amplitude-integrated EEG or cerebral function monitor in full-term infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and their neurodevelopmental outcome. A total of 8 studies were eligible for the primary meta-analysis. There was an overall sensitivity of 91% (95% CI 87-95) and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.09 (95% CI .06-.15) for amplitude-integrated EEG tracings to accurately predict poor outcome. Amplitude-integrated EEG is a valuable bedside tool for predicting long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in term infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. This information is useful in structuring communication and care plans for physicians and parents. Early assessment techniques such as amplitude-integrated EEG provide objective means for determining inclusion in clinical studies evaluating therapies for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and for predicting which patients are most likely to respond to treatment.

Breastfeeding hospitalized infants can be difficult. The authors assessed the effectiveness of an International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) service to increase the proportion of infants given their own mother's milk (OMM) in a children's hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The charts of 350 randomly selected patients admitted the year before and after implementation of the service in July 1997 were abstracted. Factors significantly associated with infants being given OMM included infant sex, ethnicity, length of NICU stay, and 5-minute Apgar score. After comparison of the periods before and after pro-gram implementation, the proportion of NICU infants ever given their OMM was found to have increased from 31% to 47% ( P = .002). This increase differed significantly in relation to infants' clinical status and/or management (5-minute Apgar score, length of NICU stay, and age at NICU admission) but not in relation to maternal factors. Mothers with infants in the NICU should have access to lactation counseling. J Hum Lact. 19(3):286-292.