• Erantia E Visser, Esedra E Krüger, Aletta Margaretha, and A M Kritzinger.
• Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028.
• Afr Health Sci. 2018 Dec 1; 18 (4): 1098-1108.

BackgroundThere is limited description of the feeding characteristics of infants with unrepaired cleft lip and palate, exposed to HIV, but not necessarily infected.ObjectiveTo compare the feeding characteristics of infants with unrepaired cleft lip and palate and HIV-exposure, to infants with unrepaired cleft lip and palate only.MethodA two-group comparative design with a validated measure, the Neonatal Feeding Assessment Scale was used. The effectiveness of oral feeding skills were included as objective measure. Twelve participants with unrepaired cleft lip and palate and HIV-exposure and 13 with unrepaired cleft lip and palate were matched according to cleft type and use of feeding obturator. There were no differences between the groups for mean age, birth weight and gestation. Participants were between two and 89 days old, bottle fed, and had no syndrome/co-occurring disorder.ResultsNine (75%) participants in the research group and only two (15.38%) in the control grouppresented with the likelihood of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Apart from feeding difficulties as a result of structural impairment, the research group showed symptoms of neurological involvement.ConclusionThe research group presented with distinctive symptoms of oropharyngeal dysphagia. More studies using different measuring tools are required to strengthen the evidence.

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