title: Comparison of videonasoendoscopy and auditory-perceptual evaluation of speech in individuals with cleft lip/palate.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The velopharyngeal sphincter (VPS) is a muscle belt located between the oropharynx and the nasopharynx. Investigations of velopharyngeal function should include an auditory-perceptual evaluation and at least 1 instrument-based evaluation such as videonasoendoscopy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the findings of auditory-perceptual evaluation (hypernasality) and videonasoendoscopy (gap size) in individuals with cleft lip/palate.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study assessing 49 subjects, of both sexes, with cleft lip/palate followed up at the Otorhinolaryngology Service and the Speech Therapy outpatient clinic of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). The results from the auditory-perceptual evaluation and the videonasoendoscopy test were compared with respect to the VPS gap size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects with moderate/severe hypernasality had more severe velopharyngeal closure impairment than those with a less severe condition. The interaction between hypernasality severity and the presence of other speech disorders (p = 0.035), whether compensatory and/or obligatory, increased the likelihood of having a moderate-to-large gap in the velopharyngeal closure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed an association between the findings of these 2 evaluation methods.
authors.affiliation: Speech Language Pathologist. Doctor of Science in Children's and Teenager's Health- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul-UFRGS. Professor of Speech-Language Pathology at Fatima College (RS).
authors.forename: Lauren Medeiros
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Paniagua
authors.affiliation: Undergraduated Speech pathology - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS (fellow undergraduated of CNPq).
authors.forename: Alana Verza
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Signorini
authors.affiliation: MD; MSc; PhD.Associate Professor - Department Of Otolaryngology & Head And Neck Surgery School Of Medicine - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
authors.forename: Sady Selaimen da
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: MD; PhD. Associate Professor Department of Surgery; Head, Plastic Surgery Section - School of Medicine/Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
authors.forename: Marcus Vinicius Martins
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Collares
authors.affiliation: Speech Pathology, MSc, PhD. Professor Department of Speech Pathology - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
authors.forename: Sílvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dornelles
keywords: Cleft Palate; Communication Disorders; Evaluation; Velopharyngeal Sphincter