الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Optimal velopharyngeal valve function is important for normal speech production, instrumental approaches to comprehend velopharyngeal function have demonstrated to have both research and clinical value.This study aims at use of a minimally invasive, inexpensive and simple technique to evaluate velopharyngeal function. The aim of this is to compare the effectiveness of measuring nasal ram pressure versus nasometer II as a diagnostic tool in patients with velopharyngeal dysfunction. The study was conducted on two groups, first group included 37 patients with velopharyngeal dysfunction and second group included 37 normal children attending the unit of phoniatrics, otorhinolaryngology department, Alexandria Main University hospital. The patients were assessed by the protocol of assessment which is applied in unit of phoniatrics, NRPT and nasometer were undertaken by all the participants simultaneously to avoid biases caused by changes in their true disease status. The results showed statistically significant differences between the two studied groups using the nasometer and the NRPT, a significant relation between the VP gap size and the amplitude of the NRPT signal and a high validity of both tests. Conclusion of the study is that NRPT is easy, minimally invasive, inexpensive and simple technique to evaluate velopharyngeal valve status |