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CompletedNCT00829101APCLPUpdated Jul 2, 2014

Articulation and Phonology in Children With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

An observational study in Cleft Palate and Cleft Lip, sponsored by Region Skane. Completed at 1 site in Sweden. Open to participants aged 3 Years to 3 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-07-02.

Sponsored by Region Skane · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
30
Ages
3 Years to 3 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

The purpose of the study is to assess if there are any differences in the articulatory and phonological competence in pre-school children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) who are treated with different surgical methods of palatal repair.

Read the detailed description

A cleft palate may influence important functions such as eating, function of the ear/hearing, speech, occlusion, and in addition social skills and acceptability related to appearance. Surgical treatment is aiming to minimize the impact of the cleft on these functions. Nevertheless there is often a need of orthodontic treatment, and if the palate is involved, speech therapy and speech improving secondary surgery. The incidence of otitis media with effusion, and related hearing problems, is high among the children. The outcome is affected by type of cleft as well as surgical method, although not yet fully clarified. Some consider the growth of the mid-face to be better if primary surgery of the hard palate is delayed, while speech development is considered to benefit from primary palate surgery performed as early as possible. Yet we don´t know which surgical method is the best. In most parts of the world and at three of six treatment centers in Sweden the palate is closed in one stage between 12 and 18 months of age. At the three other Swedish centers the cleft in the soft palate is closed at 4-6 months, and the cleft in the hard palate is repaired at 2-3 years of age.

Video-recordings of the children at 3 and 5 years of age will be used for evaluation. The speech material at 3 years of age consists of spontaneous speech and word naming. At 5 years sentence repetition and a re-telling task is added. Blindly transcription of the material after randomization, according to the transcription used for cleft palate speech in Sweden based on the IPA and ExtIPA conventions will be performed. About 30% of the material, randomly selected, will be re-transcribed and about 30% will be transcribed by an additional listener independently, for calculation of reliability. The results will be compared between groups regarding articulatory deviancies and phonological processes, and will be statistically analyzed. Impact of ear problems, hearing and speech therapy will be assessed.

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Conditions studied

  • Cleft Palate
  • Cleft Lip

Keywords

  • unilateral cleft lip and palate
  • primary palatal surgery
  • articulation
  • phonology
  • one stage palatal repair
  • two stage palatal repair
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In context

Cleft Palate

131 studies on the registry are indexed under Cleft Palate; 36 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 96 across 40 observational studies indexed under Cleft Palate.

Browse Cleft Palate studies →

Lead sponsor

Region Skane is the lead sponsor of 369 studies on the registry; 110 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
3 Years to 3 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Children from the south or western region of Sweden born with unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Inclusion criteria

  • born with unilateral cleft lip and palate
  • native Swedish speaking

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • known syndromes and/or additional malformations
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Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
30 participants (actual)

Groups and cohorts

  • 1 One-stage repair

    A consecutive group of children born with unilateral cleft lip and palate from the south region of Sweden, in all 10 children, who have had a primary palatal surgery at 12 months of age.

  • 2 Two-stage repair, early closure

    A consecutive group of children born with unilateral cleft lip and palate from the western region of Sweden, in all 10 children, who have had a two-stage palatal surgery, with soft palate closure at 4-6 months and repair of the hard palate at 12 months of age.

  • 3 Two-stage repair, delayed closure

    A consecutive group of children born with unilateral cleft lip and palate from the western region of Sweden, in all 10 children, who have have had a two-stage palatal surgery, with soft palate closure at 4-6 months and repair of the hard palate at 36 months of age.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Percent correct consonants

    Time frame: 3 and 5 years of age

Secondary outcomes

  1. Phonological simplification processes

    Time frame: 3 and 5 years of age

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Study locations

1 site
  • Department of Logopedics, Skåne University Hospital Malmö
    Malmo, Region Skane S-205 02, Sweden
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References and documents

Publications

  • Farzaneh F, Lindman R, Becker M, Hansen K, Svensson H. von Langenbeck procedures at 8 months or Wardill at 18 months for primary repair of cleft palate in adult Swedish patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate: a study of facial growth. Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Hand Surg. 2008;42(2):67-76. doi: 10.1080/02844310701850512. PubMed 18335350 ↗
  • Farzaneh F, Becker M, Peterson AM, Svensson H. Speech results in adult Swedish patients born with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate. Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg Hand Surg. 2008;42(1):7-13. doi: 10.1080/02844310701694522. PubMed 18188776 ↗
  • Friede H. Maxillary growth controversies after two-stage palatal repair with delayed hard palate closure in unilateral cleft lip and palate patients: perspectives from literature and personal experience. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2007 Mar;44(2):129-36. doi: 10.1597/06-037.1. PubMed 17328651 ↗
  • Lohmander A, Persson C. A longitudinal study of speech production in Swedish children with unilateral cleft lip and palate and two-stage palatal repair. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2008 Jan;45(1):32-41. doi: 10.1597/06-123.1. PubMed 18215097 ↗
  • Peterson-Falzone SJ. The relationship between timing of cleft palate surgery and speech outcome: what have we learned, and where do we stand in the 1990s? Semin Orthod. 1996 Sep;2(3):185-91. doi: 10.1016/s1073-8746(96)80013-2. PubMed 9161287 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 2, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00829101
Lead sponsor
Region Skane
Collaborators
Karolinska Institutet, Göteborg University
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jan 26, 2009
Start date
Jan 2009
Primary completion
Jul 2014
Completion
Jul 2014
Last update
Jul 2, 2014

Study contacts

Henry Svensson, Professor, Head
study director · Department of Plastic and reconstructive Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Sweden

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2014. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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