Developing a test battery for diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech in Arabic speakers

Abstract Background Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a speech sound disorder in which the precision and consistency of movements underlying speech are impaired in absence of neuromuscular deficits. It is important to differentiate between language disorders and CAS to avoid misdiagnosis. The objective of this study was to develop a test battery for CAS in order to identify its possible presence in Arabic-speaking children, thus allowing the planning of appropriate therapy programs. The constructed test battery for CAS was administered to 70 monolingual Arabic-speaking Egyptian children including 10 children with suspected CAS, 20 children with phonological disorders, and 40 typically developing children. Participants’ responses were statistically analyzed to assess the validity and reliability, and to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of the test battery. Results Statistically significant differences were found between the three groups as regard all subtotal and total scores of CAS test battery with good validity and reliability of the test. Conclusions The constructed test battery for diagnosis of CAS is a reliable, valid, and sensitive tool that can be used to detect the presence of CAS in Arabic-speaking children and differentiate between it and phonological disorders

Screening of gastrointestinal symptoms and celiac disease in children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Background This study aimed to evaluate the GIT manifestation in Autistic children and relate it to the degree of autism to demonstrate the possible connection between celiac disease and autism. An observational cross-sectional study with analytic component was carried out on 114 children with autism spectrum disorder above 3 years who visited to Phoniatric Unit, Mansoura University Hospitals and were separated into three groups according to DSM-V each of them contained 38 children, group I (children with level I ASD), group II (children with level II ASD), and group III (children with level III ASD). Results Fifty percent of ASD children in the studied groups showed at least one GIT symptom. Constipation was the most common symptom. The existence of gastrointestinal signs was shown to have a substantial link with the severity of autism. None of the youngsters had celiac disease. Conclusion Gastrointestinal issues are frequent in ASD children and may lead to ASD behavioral symptoms. It is possible that children with more severe autism are more prone to suffer from gastrointestinal issues, and the other way around. This research found no evidence to demonstrate a connection between autism spectrum disorder and celiac illness

Behavioral characteristics and parenting styles in chronic habitual hyperfunctional childhood dysphonia

Abstract Background This study aimed to understand the association of child behavior and parenting practices with chronic habitual hyperfunctional childhood dysphonia (CHCD) for a better understanding of the nature of the psychological background of the problem. The study involved 52 Egyptian children aged 4 to 14 years old of both genders; the case group included 26 children diagnosed with (CHCD) based on auditory perceptual assessment using the modified GRBAS scale and laryngeal examination using an indirect laryngoscope, and the control group included 26 healthy children of the same age and gender. All of the children in the study had their histories were taken (demographic data, child vocal behavior history, and family vocal behavior history), the social class determined, SDQ for child behavior, and APQ for parenting practices.  Results The findings revealed that children with CHCD were more likely to engage in unhealthy vocal behavior and engage in street/sports activities. At the SDQ, children with CHCD had significantly higher emotional, conduct, and total difficulty scores. The degree of dysphonia was associated with prosocial behavior and emotional symptoms. The two groups’ parenting practices did not significantly differ from one another. Conclusion According to our research, CHCD is associated with several behavior problems, such as emotional symptom and conduct issues, but not with parenting practices

The role of video-fluoroscopy in the assessment of obstructive sleep apnea patients: comparative study

Abstract Background Pre-operative imaging tools play a crucial role in the anatomic assessment of the upper airway and adjacent structures in obstructive sleep apnea patients. The current study was aimed at comparing and correlating the results of videofluoroscopy in evaluating upper airway obstruction in surgically fit obstructive sleep apnea “OSA” patients with fiberoptic nasoendoscopic examination during the awake “Muller’s maneuver” and during sleep induced with propofol for better selection of the suitable surgical maneuver. The present study was an observational cross-sectional study of 69 surgically fit OSA patients (36 males and 33 females); their ages ranged between 29 and 65 years with mean age of 45.87 ± 9.68 years. The patients were selected from otorhinolaryngology, phoniatric, and pulmonology outpatient clinics during the period from February 2019 to January 2020. Results The present study demonstrated that no statistically significant difference was found between the three techniques (video-fluoroscopy, awake fiber-optic nasoendoscopy, and drug-induced sleep nasoendoscopy “DISE”) as regards the shape of upper airway collapse at retropalatal, retroglossal, and hypopharyngeal levels in OSA patient (P: 0.621, 0.669, and 1.0 respectively). Statistically, a significant difference was observed between video-fluoroscopy, awake fiber-optic nasoendoscopy on one hand, and DISE on the other one regarding the grade of upper airway collapse at all levels (P: 0.006, 0.037, and 0.003). It was a mild significant difference in favor of DISE. Conclusion Video-fluoroscopy is a good, reliable complementary preoperative assessment tool to identify obstruction patterns of the upper airway in OSA patients with quantitative measurements