Otorhinolaryngologic screening of children with vocal quality disturbances.
Voice evaluations of 1481 children were conducted in a rural community school system. One hundred and four children were identified as having vocal qualities that differed perceptually from normal upon initial evaluation by two speech pathologists. From a rescreening several months later, 65 children were presented to an ENT specialist for examination. Eighty-eight percent of these children had their larynx examined by the physician. Of this group, 82% were male, with 35% of all the cases showing bilateral vocal nodules and 28% with bilateral vocal fold thickening. Only a small percentage of children displayed mucoid nasal secretion, redness of arytenoids or granulation of the pharyngeal wall. The results suggest that a team approach including medical and behavioral management is most beneficial for children with voice deviations.
D001193:Arytenoid Cartilage / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D010038:Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000503:physiopathology; D014831:Voice; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014833:Voice Quality