Deformation of the palate in preterm infants
AIM To investigate the effect of gestation, postmenstrual age, and orotracheal intubation on palate morphology. METHODS A prospective study was made of 76 newborn infants of 25 to 41 weeks’ gestation. Palate dimensions were measured on plaster models produced from serial palatal impressions. Palate...
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Published in | Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition Vol. 78; no. 1; pp. F29 - F32 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
01.01.1998
BMJ BMJ Publishing Group LTD BMJ Group |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | AIM To investigate the effect of gestation, postmenstrual age, and orotracheal intubation on palate morphology. METHODS A prospective study was made of 76 newborn infants of 25 to 41 weeks’ gestation. Palate dimensions were measured on plaster models produced from serial palatal impressions. Palate size relative to that of the mouth was assessed using a ratio of palate depth to palate width (Palatal Index). RESULTS Palate depth and width were related to postmenstrual age and gestation. Palatal Index ranged from 0.15 to 0.57, indicating a wide variation in palate shape, but gestation and postmenstrual age had no effect. Prolonged intubation had a small effect, equivalent to an increase in palatal depth of less than 2 mm at 32 weeks’ postmenstrual age. The effect was transient. CONCLUSION Prolonged orotracheal intubation (>10 days) leads to a small and temporary increase in palatal depth. However, this is unlikely to account for palatal grooving, which is probably caused by an overgrowth of the lateral palatine ridges. |
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Bibliography: | href:fetalneonatal-78-F29.pdf ark:/67375/NVC-6D3T76JB-S Dr Annie M Procter Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff. CF4 4XN. local:fetalneonatal;78/1/F29 istex:02F5DF5C0FB8AACE522900D5538E7BB1E039F919 PMID:9536837 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1359-2998 1468-2052 |
DOI: | 10.1136/fn.78.1.F29 |