Nasalance measures in German-speaking cleft patients

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Craniofacial Anomalies
• Acoustic Analysis

Background:

• Cleft lip and palate (CLP) can affect velopharyngeal function, leading to hypernasality.
• Nasalance measures are used to assess velopharyngeal function in individuals with CLP.
• Understanding gender differences and variations across CLP types is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate nasalance measures in German-speaking patients with various types of repaired cleft lip and palate.
• To determine if significant gender differences in nasalance exist within different cleft patient groups.
• To identify potential differences in nasalance scores among distinct cleft types.

Main Methods:

• 125 German-speaking patients with repaired cleft lip and palate (UCL, UCLP, CP, BCLP) were assessed.
• Nasalance data were collected using the NasalView system.
• Speech stimuli included sustained vowels, oral/nasal sentences, and reading passages.

Main Results:

• No significant gender-based nasalance differences were found in any of the cleft groups.
• Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in mean nasalance distance and ratio.
• A significant difference (P=0.032) in mean nasalance scores for nasal sentences was identified between the isolated unilateral cleft lip (UCL) and complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) groups.

Conclusions:

• Gender does not appear to be a significant factor influencing nasalance in this cohort of German-speaking patients with repaired cleft lip and palate.
• While overall nasalance measures did not differ significantly across groups, specific differences in nasal sentence performance highlight potential variations in velopharyngeal function between UCL and UCLP.
• Further research may explore the clinical implications of these specific differences in nasalance for speech and resonance outcomes.