Epidemiology of communication disorders in childhood phoniatric clinical practice / Epidemiologia dos distúrbios de comunicação na infância em clínica foniátrica

INTRODUCTION: Language acquisition and development require an understanding of physical and psychosocial aspects during diagnosis and treatment. At this point, a partnership between phoniatric physicians and other health professionals is often a determinant for favorable prognosis.OBJECTIVE: To identify the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a pediatric population attending a phoniatric clinical practice.METHODS: Study design: Cross-sectional cohort. Retrospective, epidemiological study of 297 children, seen in phoniatric appointments between 1976 and 2005. Outcome variables were referral origin, gender, age, mean age, diagnosis, and treatment approach.RESULTS: 66% were male and 34% were female, with a mean age of 6.4 years. The largest number of referrals for phoniatric treatments came from speech therapists (38%). The predominant complaint was alteration in speech (35%); the diagnostics in speech, language, and fluency (49.5%) are noteworthy. Considering the total of the patients analyzed, 28.2% were referred for speech therapy and 11.8% for psychotherapy.CONCLUSION: The studied population is predominantly male, the diagnosis points to a higher incidence in cases of impairment in speech, language, and fluency; the most common treatment was speech therapy.

INTRODUÇÃO: Aquisição e desenvolvimento da linguagem demandam cuidados exigindo compreensão dos aspectos orgânicos e psíquicos no diagnóstico e tratamento. Assim, parceria entre foniatra e outros profissionais é, muitas vezes, determinante de um prognóstico favorável.OBJETIVO: Caracterizar clínica e epidemiologicamente os distúrbios de comunicação em crianças na prática clínica.MÉTODO: Coorte transversal histórica. Estudo epidemiológico retrospectivo de 297 prontuários de crianças atendidas em consulta foniátrica no período entre 1976 a 2005. Variáveis: origem do encaminhamento, gênero, média da idade, diagnóstico e conduta para tratamento.RESULTADOS: 66% foram do gênero masculino e 34% do feminino com média de idade de 6,4 anos. Maior número de encaminhamentos foi realizado por fonoaudiólogos (38%). A queixa predominante era de alterações na fala 35% e ressaltam-se os diagnósticos na área da fala, linguagem e fluência (49,5%). Do total destacaram-se os encaminhamentos para: 28,2% fonoterapia e 11,8% psicoterapia.CONCLUSÃO: A população atendida foi predominantemente masculina, o diagnóstico aponta maior incidência em quadros de comprometimento na fala, linguagem e fluência e o tratamento mais indicado foi fonoterapia.

Sobre el déficit pragmático en la utilización de pares adyacentes, por pacientes esquizofrénicos crónicos, y de primer brote / On pragmatic deficits in the use of adjacent pairs by chronic schizophrenic patients, and first outbreak

This study aims to demonstrate through a qualitative assessment of the linguistic problems in the primary communication of schizophrenic subjects. We refer to the pragmatic deficit presenting his speech. The methodology of the study consists of 40 speech samples of subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV and ICD-10, which was obtained from clinical interviews with informed consent in the health network in Santiago, Chile. Of these samples, 12 patients are first outbreak and 28 to chronic whose ages vary between 17 and 50 years. The results point to verify the existence of a further deterioration of the pragmatic functions in chronic patients than in patients with first episode. These deficiencies are clearly visible in the use of communicative strategies such as pair's adjacent initials, which only meet the communicative purpose in the first turns of speech. Based on the behavior and cognitive pragma-linguitic subjects intend releasing results that point to search for evidence of an early diagnosis, the chronic course of schizophrenia gives less chance of recovery and integration of patients. The results point to verify the existence of a further deterioration of the pragmatic functions in chronic patients than in patients with first episode. These deficiencies are clearly visible in the use of communicative strategies such as pair's adjacent initials, which only meet the communicative purpose in the first turns of speech. These segments are usually started with some strategies. Based on the behavior and cognitive pragma-linguitic subjects intend releasing results that point to search for evidence of an early diagnosis, the chronic course of schizophrenia gives less chance of recovery and integration of patients.

El presente estudio tiene por objetivo evidenciar por medio de la evaluación lingüística cualitativa uno de los problemas primarios en la comunicación de sujetos esquizofrénicos. Nos referimos al déficit pragmático que presenta su discurso. La metodología del estudio comprende 40 muestras de habla de sujetos diagnosticados de esquizofrenia, según criterios del DSM-IV y CIE-10, las que fueron obtenidas de entrevistas clínicas con consentimiento informado en la red de salud de Santiago de Chile. De dichas muestras, 12 corresponden a pacientes con un primer brote y 28 pacientes a enfermos crónicos, cuyas edades varían entre los 17y 50 años. Los resultados apuntan a la comprobación de la existencia de un mayor deterioro de las funciones pragmáticas en los pacientes crónicos que en los pacientes de primer brote. Estas deficiencias son claramente apreciables en la utilización de estrategias comunicativas tales como los pares adyacentes iniciales, que únicamente cumplen el propósito comunicativo en los primeros turnos de habla. Basados en el comportamiento pragmalingüístico y cognitivo de los sujetos pretendemos relevar resultados que apunten a la búsqueda de evidencias para un diagnóstico precoz, ya que el curso crónico de la esquizofrenia arroja menos posibilidades de recuperación e integración de los pacientes.

Valoración de las funciones mentales y la comunicación en adultos mayores mapuches y no mapuches en áreas rurales del sur de Chile / Evaluation of mental and communication functions in mapuche and non mapuche elderly subjects in rural communities in southern Chile

The main predictors of functional impairment in the elderly are alterations in mental or communication functions. Aim: To study mental and communication functions in rural elderly subjects of Mapuche and non Mapuche origin. Patients and methods: Elderly subjects coming from a rural Mapuche community and a non Mapuche community were studied. Subjects were interviewed at their homes. The communication and mental function assessments of the Functional Autonomy Measurement System were applied. Results: Fifty one Mapuche and 49 non Mapuche subjects with a mean age of 71 ± 7 and 74 ± 8 years respectively, were studied. Fifty four percent were female and 31% were illiterate. Twenty six percent had impairment in mental functions. The item with the highest difficulty was memory. The visual function was the most severely impaired among communication items. Mapuche elderly subjects had significantly higher degrees of impairment in mental and communication functions. Conclusions: There is a higher degree of mental and communication impairment among rural Mapuche elderly subjects than in their non Mapuche counterparts (Rev Méd Chile 2003; 31: 1257-65).