Dados do Trabalho

Título

Association between breathing and ankyloglossia in newborns in the first days of life.

Introdução

The literature has shown the impact of ankyloglossia and/or nasal obstruction in newborns on the coordination between sucking, swallowing and breathing in breastfeeding, as well as on craniofacial development. Some authors have reported that undiagnosed abnormalities of the lingual frenulum at birth are associated with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in older age. Thus, the early diagnosis of alterations in orofacial structures that may compromise orofacial functions in the first days of life is essential. No research has been found that has associated breathing with ankyloglossia in full-term newborns in the first days of life.

Objetivo

To verify the association between ankyloglossia and breathing in newborns in the first days of life

Métodos

Cross-sectional study carried out with 130 newborns at a University Hospital. Newborns aged between one and five days of life, Apgar score ≥ 8, on exclusive breastfeeding were included. Only full-term and healthy newborns participated in the research. This research was approved by CEP No. 1,514,715. Data collection was performed by the researcher and by three speech therapists from the team, properly trained and calibrated. The Anatomofunctional Assessment of the Tongue Frenulum Assessment Protocol in Infants and the Newborn Respiration Assessment Protocol were applied. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis, using the Chi-Square test, considering a significance level of 5%.

Resultados

Regarding the evaluation of the lingual frenulum, 105 (81%) newborns had normal lingual frenulum and 25 (19%) were diagnosed with ankyloglossia. As for breathing, 95 (73.1%) newborns were breathing through the nose, without any difficulty, and 35 (26.9%) had difficulty breathing through the nose. When comparing the data, the statistical analysis showed a significant association between ankyloglossia and the newborn's difficulty in breathing through the nose (p=0.032).

Conclusões

In the first days of life, there is a higher percentage of babies with ankyloglossia who have difficulty breathing through the nose.

Palavras-chave

Respiration. Newborn. Breastfeeding. Lingual frenulum.