METHODS: A group of 33 healthy children, aged from 5 years 9 months-12 years 4 months (mean ± SD = 8.83 ± 1.92 years), was recruited. Their otolith saccular function was assessed using 750 Hz tone burst for cVEMPs (with ER3A insert phone), while their utricular function was assessed using Brüel & Kjaer Mini-shaker Type 4810 (Naerum, Denmark) for oVEMPs.
RESULTS: For cVEMPs, the mean value of P13 latency, N23 latency, P13-N23 interamplitude and asymmetry ratio were 12.62 ± 1.38 ms, 19.85 ± 1.95 ms, 92.47 ± 50.35 μV and 14.03 ± 9.75%, respectively. For oVEMPs, the mean value of N10 latency, P15 latency, N10-P15 interamplitude and asymmetry ratio were 9.23 ± 1.07 ms, 14.41 ± 1.04 ms, 10.32 ± 5.65 μV and 15.84 ± 11.49%, respectively. Two-way ANOVA analysis found that ear laterality and gender had no significant effect on all cVEMPs and oVEMPs parameters. No significant correlation was found between age and all VEMPs parameters.
CONCLUSIONS: The normative data for cVEMPs and oVEMPs obtained in this study can be used as a guide by health professionals to assess saccular and utricular functions among children age from 5 to 12 years of age.
AIMS: To determine the (a) diagnostic accuracy, interobserver reliability and reliable oxygen desaturation index of 4% (ODI4) score at diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome in children and (b) correlation between the apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI) with ODI4 and oxygen nadir between both PSG and oximetry.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included children aged 1-18 years old, undergoing a fully attended overnight PSG for suspected obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. The Nonin 3150 WristOx2 ™ [Fig. 2] was worn simultaneously during the PSG. Poor oximetry recordings were excluded. Pulse oximetry was scored using the McGill Oximetry Score (MOS) whereby a score of 2-4 was positive for OSAS. Specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV) and interobserver reliability of the WristOx2 were calculated.
RESULTS: One hundred and sixty-two children with a mean (SD) age of 9.3 (±3.5) years (range 2 years 6 months old - 17 years old) were included after excluding 18 children (poor oximetry data [n = 16] and incomplete PSG [n = 2]). Interobserver agreement of the WristOx2 was 0.8763 (95% CI:0.80, 0.95). WristOx2 had a sensitivity 50%, specificity 96.7%, PPV 96% and NPV 53% at diagnosing OSAS. ODI4 ≥ 2 events/hour in oximetry had a sensitivity of 97.6% and negative predictive value of 85.7% at diagnosing OSA.
CONCLUSION: Overnight pulse oximetry with the Nonin 3150 WristOx2 ™ is an accurate and reliable tool in diagnosing significant OSAS in children.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the treatment effect of Reverse Twin-Block (RTB) and Reverse Pull Face Mask (RPFM) on Pharyngeal Airway Space (PAS) in early and late mixed dentition Class III samples.
METHODS: Ninety-five mixed dentition Malay children with Class III malocclusion were included in this study. Data consists of 190 pre- and post-treatment lateral cephalograms of early (8-9 years) and late (10-11 years) mixed dentition Class III samples. forty-nine samples were under RTB and forty-six samples were under RPFM. Treatment changes were evaluated by McNamara airway analysis and changes in tongue and hyoid bone position.
RESULTS: Both upper and lower pharyngeal airway width were increased after treatment with RTB and RPFM ruling out the chance of airway constriction. There was also posterior positioning of the tongue and hyoid bone indicating mandibular retrusion. No significant treatment changes were found on the Pharyngeal Airway Space by the factor age, gender or type of appliance.
CONCLUSIONS: Both RTB and RPFM increased the Pharyngeal Airway Space and produced similar treatment effect. As age does not affect the treatment outcome significantly, treatment can be delayed until late mixed dentition stage.
METHODS: In this study that employed a comparative design, fifty-nine typically developing Malaysian children (24 boys, aged from 8 years, 0 months to 8 years, 11 months) were enrolled. They were chosen from three different classrooms (consisting of high achieving, medium achieving and low achieving students, respectively) in a primary school. Their ORF and SRF skills were assessed according to the established methods.
RESULTS: As revealed by two-way ANOVA results, both ORF and SRF scores were found to be comparable between boys and girls (p > 0.05). In contrast, ORF and SRF results between the three classrooms were significantly different from each other (p
METHODS: Seventeen healthy children (6 boys, 11 girls) aged from 5 to 9 years (mean = 6.8 ± 3.3 years) were tested in two sessions separated by a 3-month period. The stimulus used was a 40-ms syllable /da/ presented at 30 dB sensation level.
RESULTS: As revealed by pair t-test and intra-class correlation (ICC) analyses, peak latencies, peak amplitudes and composite onset measures of speech-ABR were found to be highly replicable. Compared to other parameters, higher ICC values were noted for peak latencies of speech-ABR.
CONCLUSION: The present study was the first to report the test-retest reliability of speech-ABR recorded at low stimulation levels in healthy children. Due to its good stability, it can be used as an objective indicator for assessing the effectiveness of auditory rehabilitation in hearing-impaired children in future studies.