RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The development of a tongue assessment tool to assist with tongue-tie identification
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition
JO Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP F344
OP F349
DO 10.1136/archdischild-2014-307503
VO 100
IS 4
A1 Jenny Ingram
A1 Debbie Johnson
A1 Marion Copeland
A1 Cathy Churchill
A1 Hazel Taylor
A1 Alan Emond
YR 2015
UL http://fn.bmj.com/content/100/4/F344.abstract
AB Aim To produce a simple tool with good transferability to provide a consistent assessment of tongue appearance and function in infants with tongue-tie.Methods The Bristol Tongue Assessment Tool (BTAT) was developed based on clinical practice and with reference to the Hazelbaker Assessment Tool for Lingual Frenulum Function (ATLFF). This paper documents 224 tongue assessments using the BTAT. There were 126 tongue assessments recorded using the BTAT and ATLFF tools to facilitate comparisons between them. Paired BTAT assessments were obtained from eight midwives who were using the new assessment tool.Results There was acceptable internal reliability for the four-item BTAT (Cronbach's α=0.708) and the eight midwives who used it showed good correlation in the consistency of its use (ICC=0.760). The BTAT showed a strong and significant correlation (0.89) with the ATLFF, indicating that the simpler BTAT could be used in place of the more detailed assessment tool to score the extent of a tongue-tie. Midwives found it quick and easy to use and felt that it would be easy to teach to others.Conclusions The BTAT provides an objective, clear and simple measure of the severity of a tongue-tie, to inform selection of infants for frenotomy and to monitor the effect of the procedure.