ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To establish normative electroglottography (EGG) data in the pediatric population. DESIGN: Clinical study with EGG data gathered on children with normal voices. SETTING: Major children's hospital and specialty eye and ear hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 164 children, 79 girls and 85 boys, aged 3 to 16 years. METHODS: Children with normal voices, determined through subjective evaluation and a voice use history questionnaire, underwent EGG recording. The EGG data were analyzed with commercially available software for fundamental frequency, jitter, open quotient, closing quotient, and opening quotient. RESULTS: Normative EGG data were established for children aged 3 to 16 years. Jitter, open quotient, closing quotient, and opening quotient were all found to have no significant dependence on age. CONCLUSIONS: Children as young as 3 years can easily tolerate EGG, making it possible to establish this initial set of normative pediatric EGG data. These preliminary results suggest that EGG may have potential to assist clinicians with noninvasive documentation of vocal function in the pediatric population. This maybe particularly important for tracking treatment-related changes in the vocal function of children who are difficult to examine endoscopically.
