483 Radiographic Changes in the Auditory Pathway to Predict Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Early diagnosis of congenital sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is of paramount importance in preventing speech and language impairment.Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI can identify brain microstructural changes that may potentially contribute towards prognosticating rehabilitation. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We retrospectively reviewed pediatric patients with SNHL who obtained DTI MRI between 2011 and 2019, identifying 16 pediatric patients (age <18 years) with at least moderate asymmetric/bilateral SNHL., and gender-matched controlswithout neurological, developmental, or MRI-based brain macrostructural abnormalities. The following brainstem regions and tracts of the auditory pathway were assessed: superior olivary nucleus (SON), inferior colliculus (IC), ipsilateral tracts between the inferior colliculus and superior olivary nucleus (IC-SON). Diffusion values for bilateral regions and tracts were generated, then averaged to calculate a mean value for fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) for each subject. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Significant differences were identified in FA values of the SON between the SNHL cohort and controls (0.377±0.056 vs 0.422±0.052; p=0.009). No other FA or MD values were significantly different. In children £5 years, MD was significantly decreased in the SNHL cohort compared to controls in the IC (0.918±0.051 vs 1.120±0.142; p<0.001). In children >5 years, there were no significant differences in MD (1.124±0.198 vs 0.997±0.103; p = 0.119). There were no significant differences in MD or FA in the white matter fibers of the IC-SON tract [applewebdata%3A//720AAF0C-C4CF-459C-A42A-6BAA56C4E4CA#_msocom_2]. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study to assess microstructural changes in brainstem auditory pathway regions among children with SNHL. Longitudinal studies are warranted to assess the predictive value of DTI imaging for long-term outcomes and prognosticating intervention.