Piotr Dąbrowski

Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program in Poland--10-year summary.

INTRODUCTION The analysis was aimed to summarize the outcomes of Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program (PUNHSP). MATERIALS AND METHODS The analysis comprised the population of children registered in the PUNHSP database between 2003 and 2013. The evaluated parameters included: the program coverage (percentage of children covered by the Program in relation to the number of births), results of screening tests at different levels of the Program and hearing loss incidence. RESULTS The average screened population was 96,0% with respect to total number of live births in Poland. Children requiring further evaluation represent annual average 8.5% of the study population. Among them, on average 55.8% were consulted in audiological centers. Hearing loss incidence was estimated to be 0,3%. The highest hearing loss incidence was detected in children which failed the OAE test with concomitant risk factors. 58.2% of children were fitted with hearing aids, 34.0% were referred for surgical treatment, and 7.8% for further rehabilitation. CONCLUSIONS The results of the program evaluation confirmed its good efficiency. The coverage and hearing tests results are comparable to those from other countries conducting similar national hearing screening programs.

The report on the Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program in Poland between 2003 and 2015.

The Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program (UNHSP) has been operating in the whole Poland since 2003. Its main goals are to perform a screening hearing in the 2-3 day of life in every newborn baby in Poland and to gather information on risk factors of hearing loss. In total, 505 centers participate in the UNHSP on three reference levels. As of January 19th 2016, the central data base (CDB) of the UNHSP has records of 4,845,036 children, which comprises 96% of all children born in Poland. Hearing loss was diagnosed in 12,974 children, i.e. in 3 out of 1000 children. Here, we present the most important results and conclusions of the UNHSP.

The report of the Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program in 2016

The Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Program (PUNHSP) has been carried out in Poland for 14 years. The main aim of this Program is to organize hearing screening tests and to gather the information about risk factors of hearing loss in almost all newborns in Poland. It consists of 496 centers at 3 referral levels. A total of 5 458 114 children had been registered in the Central Database (CDB) of PUNHSP by the 22nd of August 2017. Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was the most frequently appearing hearing impairment in children. It was diagnosed in 260 cases in 2016. This report presents the most important results and conclusions concerning the running of the PUNHSP in 2016.

Analysis of follow-up at the diagnostic level in the Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Programme

Objectives Routine analysis showed that between 1 June and 30 November 2014, only 47.6% of expected follow-up visits at the diagnostic level were registered in the Polish Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening Programme central database. We attempted to detect and analyse the reasons for this low percentage. Methods A telephone survey questionnaire was developed for parents whose children had not registered for consultation at the diagnostic level, or had not received a final diagnosis according to the programme database. Questions aimed to verify the database records and compare these with information received from and given to parents. From the 7888 children not registered at the diagnostic level, 3239 records were randomly selected, i.e. 52.4% of those who had been expected to attend. Results Questions were answered by 1950 parents (60.2% of the selected group). Of these, 52.1% (n = 734) had attended for diagnostic tests, but this was not recorded in the database. The most common reasons for not attending were the long waiting time for the visit (36.09%), lack of referral to a visit (25.9%) and conscious parent decision (16.35%). Conclusion The telephone survey disclosed omissions in database registration, and that in fact 83.6% of children had attended at the diagnostic level.

Association between Chromosome Instability and Histological Grading in Laryngeal Cancer

An analysis of chromosome instability in peripheral blood lymphocytes provides information on the genetic risk of cancer. The study was attempted to find a relationship between chromosome instability and the histological grading of laryngeal cancer using bleomycin as a model agent inducing chromatid breaks. Indices of chromatid breaks were calculated separately for subjects with grade G1 (n = 19), G2 (n = 39) and G3 (n = 12). A considerable increase (close but not significant) in chromosome instability was found for G3 subjects. The results coincide with a high number of bleomycin-oversensitive cases in the G3 group and an almost bimodal distribution of chromatid breaks in the whole study group. The biological results seem to indicate that chromosome instability is at least partly connected with the nature of the tumour. However, the hypothesis of an association between increased chromosome instability and poor prognosis was not confirmed in the follow-up study on the patients’ clinical outcome.