The Lombard effect associated with Chinese male alaryngeal speech.

Objective: Alaryngeal speech shows marked reduction in vocal intensity, resulting in reduced intelligibility. Lombard effect, speaking with background noise has been found to boost speakers' intensity. The study investigated oesophageal (ES), tracheoesophageal (TE) and electrolaryngeal (EL) speech production under quiet and noisy background conditions to determine if the Lombard effect is still present after laryngectomy.Method: Fifteen laryngeal and thirty-seven alaryngeal speakers who were native speakers of Cantonese were recruited and instructed to read aloud a Cantonese passage under two background conditions: quiet and 100 dB background noise conditions.Result: Significant increase in vocal intensity was found in all speaker types under the noise condition. In addition, perceived intelligibility ratings provided by naïve Cantonese listeners revealed that the overall intelligibility under noise was improved for TE and laryngeal speakers, but not for ES and EL speakers, when compared with quiet condition.Discussion and conclusion: Results confirmed that the Lombard effect is still present after total laryngectomy. However, intelligibility may not always be improved with increased vocal loudness. Improved intelligibility was only observed for TE and laryngeal speakers, but not ES and EL speakers. Clinical implications for the use of the Lombard effect in post-laryngectomy speech rehabilitation are discussed.

Evaluation of an emergency prevention program for mother to child transmission of HIV in British Columbia.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to evaluate a province-wide program designed to identify HIV infection accurately and to prevent mother to child transmission among high-risk pregnant women of unknown serostatus. METHODS: Between 2000 and 2007, 347 high-risk women were identified through the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program implemented in 27 hospitals across British Columbia. Rates of HIV transmission and details of the implementation of prophylaxis kits were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 346 high-risk mother-infant pairs identified and included in the provincial program, 35.4% of the mothers and 95.7% of infants received antiretroviral therapy for prevention of vertical transmission. Of 309 pairs who subsequently underwent HIV testing, five mothers were found to be HIV positive, an infection rate of 16.2/1000 in this cohort; the overall rate in BC is 0.68/1000 births. One of the five infants born to an HIV positive mother was infected with HIV. DISCUSSION: The program was successful in identifying a subgroup of pregnant women at increased risk of HIV infection; however, mother to child transmission occurred in one of five cases (20%). To reduce the risk of mother to child HIV transmission in BC to the lowest possible level, additional strategies such as increasing uptake of prenatal screening and point-of-care testing in labour and delivery may need to be explored.

Healthy mothers, healthy babies: preventing vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Nurses play a crucial role in ensuring that women with HIV get appropriate treatment and care during their pregnancy. This article reviews testing in pregnancy, factors associated with perinatal transmission, guidelines for management of pregnancy, labour and delivery and for postpartum care, and the identification of high-risk women as well as strategies for intervention with pregnant women with HIV.