Pediatric phoniatry outpatient ward: clinical and epidemiological characteristics

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Phoniatrics
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Children with language or learning impairments require specialized phoniatric assessment.
• Phoniatric evaluations are crucial for differential diagnosis and guiding therapeutic interventions.
• Understanding the characteristics of pediatric patients in phoniatric clinics is essential for optimizing care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the clinical and epidemiological features of pediatric patients attending a phoniatric outpatient clinic.
• To identify common diagnoses and referral patterns within this population.
• To investigate the prevalence of risk factors such as neonatal complications and family history.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cross-sectional cohort study was conducted.
• Data from 68 pediatric patients undergoing phoniatric consultation were analyzed.
• Key outcome measures included age, gender, referral source, diagnosis, age at diagnosis, neonatal risks, family history, and subsequent referrals.

Main Results:

• The study population was predominantly male (70.58%) with a mean age of 6.85 years.
• A significant proportion (45.59%) lacked a prior hearing diagnosis.
• Common diagnoses included Cerebral Palsy, Specific Language Impairment, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (50%).
• Family history of communication disorders (50%) and neonatal risks (51.47%) were prevalent.
• Most patients were referred for neurological consultation (51.47%) and therapies (79.41%).

Conclusions:

• The pediatric phoniatric population is characterized by a male predominance and complex language/developmental deviations, often multifactorial.
• A notable percentage of these children lack adequate hearing assessment.
• Early identification and comprehensive management, including neurological evaluation and therapy, are critical for this population.