The evaluation of hearing and visual functions of infants with iron deficiency anemia

OBJECT: We aimed to evaluate the effect of iron deficiency on central nervous system of infants having iron deficiency with brainstem auditory evoked responses (BERA) and visual evoked potentials (VEP). MATERIAL and METHOD: This study included 60 infant who were healthy except iron deficiency or iron deficiency anemia. 25 of them had iron deficiency, 14 of them had iron deficiency and 11 of them were the control group. Complete blood count, serum ferritin, serum iron, serum iron binding capacity, transferin saturation, VEP and BERA were measured in all infants. RESULTS: The mean hemoglobin of iron deficiency anemia, iron deficieny and the control group were 9.8±0.18, 11.4±0.14 and 12.0±0.16 gr/dl respectively. The mean ferritin of iron deficiency anemia, iron deficieny and the control group were 5.5±0.47, 10.3±0.8, 31.2±8.1 ng/ml respectively. Mean VEP latancy of the iron deficiency anemia group was 117.8 ms, and was significiant longer than the iron deficiency and control group (p<0.05). There was no significiant mean VEP latancy difference between the iron deficiency and control group (p>0.05). There was no significiant VEP amplitude difference between the three groups (p>0.05). Because of the longer time of their BERA tests, 10 infants didn’t sleep while they were being tested. So the BERA test datas were provided from 50 infants. There was no significiant BERA difference between the three groups when the I, III and V wave latancies and interpeak latancies I-III, I-V and IIII-V (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: VEP latancies of the iron deficiency group was significiant longer than the VEP latancies of the iron deficiency and the control group. However there was no significiant BERA latancy difference between the groups. We thought that VEP latancies may be effected earlier than BERA latancies in infants while our infants were mild or moderate iron deficiency when compared with literature.