Translation and validation of parental perspective questionnaire for children with cochlear implant in persian language

Objective: Parental views about the outcomes of implantation on the child's quality of life are valuable sources of information for implantation specialists. The aim at this study was to validate the "Parental Perspectives" questionnaire in Persian language.Design: The original questionnaire was translated from English to Persian language; the final Persian version of questionnaire was prepared and evaluated for validity and reliability. The internal consistency of the questionnaire and test-retest reliability were respectively evaluated by Cronbach's alpha and ICC index. Factor analysis was used to determine the construct validity.Study Sample: The participants of this study were 370 parents of CI children.Results: Sampling adequacy for executing of factor analysis was confirmed by the results of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (=0.84) and Bartlett test (p < .05). Three factors were extracted from exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the accuracy of the three-dimensional structures. Principal component analysis revealed the structural validity of three factors. Correlation between questionnaire items was good (r = 0.76). Reliability coefficient was calculated as 0.93.Conclusions: The Persian version of the questionnaire has good validity and reliability and can be used to examine the perspectives of the parents about CI.

Targeted Mutation Analysis of the SLC26A4, MYO6, PJVK and CDH23 Genes in Iranian Patients with AR Nonsyndromic Hearing Loss

BACKGROUND

Hearing loss (HL) is the most prevalent sensory disorder. The over 100 genes implicated in autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL) makes it difficult to analyze and determine the accurate genetic causes of hearing loss. We sought to de?ne the frequency of seven hearing loss-Causing causing genetic Variants in four genes in an Iranian population with hearing loss.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred ARNSHL patients with normal GJB2/GJB6 genes were included, and targeted mutations in SLC26A4, MYO6, PJVK and CDH23 genes were analyzed by ARMS-PCR. The negative and positive results were confirmed by the Sanger sequencing.

RESULTS

We found only two mutations, one in MYO6 (c.554-1 G > A) gene and another in PJVK (c.547C > T).

CONCLUSION

c.554-1G > A and c.547C > T mutations are responsible for 1% each of the Iranian ARNSHL patients. These genes are not a frequent cause of ARNSHL in an Iranian population.

The potential effects of rhinoplasty on voice

BACKGROUND

Rhinoplasty is one of the most popular cosmetic surgical procedures in Iran. Surgery on the vocal tract can potentially change the voice characteristics. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has described voice changes after rhinoplasty, and the results of this study may help physicians to be aware of potential voice alterations following rhinoplasty.

METHODS

The authors selected 27 patients for this study. Patients completed Voice Handicap Index questionnaires, and the authors performed perceptual and acoustic analyses before and 5 months after rhinoplasty.

RESULTS

The Voice Handicap Index score and its physical and emotional subscales showed a statistically significant increase after rhinoplasty, indicating a worsening of voice quality after rhinoplasty. Blind perceptual analysis by six trained listeners revealed a statistically significant increase in hyponasality after rhinoplasty. Acoustic analysis showed that the frequency of the first and second nasal murmurs increased for the phonemes "m" and "n," while the amplitude of these murmurs decreased significantly after surgery. The same pattern was seen for the phoneme "a" when it was produced between two nasal consonants, as in the word "man."

CONCLUSIONS

Rhinoplasty can change vocal characteristics by narrowing the nasal cavity. Rhinoplasty has some effects on the voice, but these changes are problematic in general for most patients. However, for individuals who rely on their voice for professional reasons, the surgeon should preoperatively discuss these changes with the patient and consider more conservative types of surgery.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, IV.

Saccular Function after Stapedotomy

Objective: To evaluate the effect of stapedotomy on saccular function.

Method: This clinical trial was conducted between October 2009 and September 2011. Bone-conducted tone-burst-evoked vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test was performed in patients with otosclerosis before and 1 week after stapedotomy.

Results: Twenty-four patients with otosclerosis entered the study. Mean age of patients was 34.66 ± 13.16 years. Female to male ratio was 2:1. VEMP was recorded in 22 patients before surgery. There were no differences in VEMP test results before and after stapedotomy.

Conclusion: It seems that stapedotomy does not influence saccular function. Moreover, saccular function seems to be normal in majority of patients with otosclerosis.