Update and validation of the early word perception test in the Spanish language.

INTRODUCTION: It is extremely important to assess speech perception skills in children with hearing loss, since these skills are essential to guide the rehabilitation process. OBJECTIVE: Update and validate the Early Speech Perception test in Spanish in normal-hearing children. METHOD: Different drawings were selected from children's books used daily in the work of teachers and speech therapists. 69 children aged between 3 and 8 years old participated in the study, divided into 6 groups by age (group 1, 3 years of age (n = 13); group 2, 4 years of age (n = 15); group 3, 5 years of age (n = 12); group 4, 6 years of age (n = 8); group 5, 7 years of age (n = 10); group 6, 8 years of age (n = 11)). For each category of the test, the children had to name and point to the corresponding drawing. RESULTS: The difference between age and gender groups was statistically evaluated. For the naming phase, a significant difference was observed between groups 1 and group 5; and between group 1 and group 6. For the pointing phase there was no difference between the groups, and in all groups, there was a score greater than 98%. In relation to gender, there was no difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that the material developed to assess auditory reception in normal-hearing children from 3 to 8 years old is appropriate.

Peer-led BASICS intervention to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences among university students: a randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Alcohol consumption is the main substance abused during university and is associated with physical, legal, emotional, social, and cognitive consequences. The peer-led BASICS intervention has been shown to be effective in decreasing the quantity and frequency of drinking, the estimated peak blood alcohol concentration (BAC), and the number of binge drinking episodes among this population. Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of the peer-led BASICS intervention to reduce risky alcohol consumption among university students in the Spanish context. Materials and methods: A two-arm randomized controlled trial in a university in northern Spain including 308 first- and second-year university students recruited between October 2022 to March 2023. The intervention was a 30-min in-person peer-led motivational interview. Participants were assessed at baseline and 1-month postintervention. The primary outcome was the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption during a typical week. The intervention effect was verified using a mixed factorial ANOVA model. Results: Compared with students in the control group, students who received the intervention reduced the number of drinks per week by 5.7 (95% CI 5.54, 5.86); the number of drinks consumed in a typical weekend by 5.2 (95% CI 5.07, 5.33); the number of drinks consumed on the occasion of greatest consumption by 4.9 (95% CI 4.78, 5.02); the number of binge drinking episodes by 1.4 (95% CI 1.37, 1.43); the peak BAC on a typical week and on the occasion of greatest consumption decreased by 0.06 (95% CI 0.058, 0.062) and 0.09 (95% CI 0.088, 0.092); the number of alcohol-related consequences by 5.8 (95% CI 5.67, 5.93); and the motivation to change their alcohol use increased by -0.8 (95% CI -0.85, -0.75). Conclusion: The peer-led BASICS intervention is effective in changing alcohol consumption and its related consequences among Spanish university students in the short term. The action of nursing students as counselors positively impacted drinking patterns among their peers. Clinical trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05639374?intr=Effectiveness%20of%20a%20Peer-led%20Program%20to%20Prevent%20Alcohol%20Consumption&rank=1&page=1&limit=10, identifier: NCT05639374.

Low-Dose Intratympanic Gentamicin for Unilateral Ménière's Disease: Accuracy of Early Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Gain Reduction in Predicting Long-Term Clinical Outcome.

Background: The number of intratympanic gentamicin (ITG) injections needed to achieve vertigo control in patients with intractable Ménière's disease (MD) may vary from a single dose to several instillations. Changes in different vestibular test results have been used to define an endpoint of treatment, including the decrease of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain elicited by the head-impulse test. Objective: To assess the accuracy of the VOR gain reduction after horizontal canal stimulation, as measured with the video head-impulse test (vHIT) 1 month after the first intratympanic injection, in predicting the need for one or more instillations to control vertigo spells in the long term. Methods: The VOR gain reduction was calculated in 47 patients submitted to (ITG) therapy 1 month after the first instillation. Results: Single intratympanic treatment with gentamicin has a 59.6% efficacy in vertigo control in the long term. Hearing change in the immediate period after treatment (1 month) is not significant to pre-treatment result and is similar for patients who needed multiple doses due to recurrence. Chronic disequilibrium and the need for vestibular rehabilitation were less frequent in patients with a good control of vertigo with just one single injection of gentamicin. A fair accuracy was obtained for the VOR gain reduction of the horizontal canal (area under the curve = 0.729 in the Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis) in predicting the need for one or more ITG. Conclusions: Single intratympanic treatment with gentamicin is an effective treatment for patients with MD. That modality of treatment has very limited damaging effect in hearing. The degree of vestibular deficit induced by the treatment is significant as measured by the reduction in the gain of the VOR but not useful for prognostic purposes.