What is the Patient Compliance Rate for Nasopharyngoscopy as Documented in Clinical Reports?

Abstract

Objective

Assess the patient compliance rate for nasopharyngoscopy as documented in clinical reports.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Thirteen cleft teams in North America.

Patients

Patients aged 3 to 21 years old with a repaired cleft palate.

Interventions

Nasopharyngoscopy.

Main Outcome Measure

Patient compliance rate for nasopharyngoscopy.

Results

Patient compliance was documented in 128 of 158 reports (81%). Of the 128 reports, patient compliance was reported as “good/excellent” in 65% (n = 83), “marginal/fair” across 10% (n = 13), “poor” in 16% (n = 20), and “other” in 9% (n = 12). Patients with “poor” compliance had lower rates of documented imaging ratings, however 55% (n = 11) of reports included a surgical recommendation.

Conclusions

Among children completing nasopharyngoscopy for velopharyngeal insufficiency surgery planning, at least one-fourth of reports indicate significant compliance issues that limits velopharyngeal port imaging. These findings suggest that some cleft teams and surgeons may be proceeding with surgical management of velopharyngeal insufficiency without adequate visualization or ratings of velopharyngeal anatomy.