Dysfunctional suction dynamics in newborns with ankyloglossia.
Bruna Mendes Lourenço Cunha, Erika Baptista Luiz Badarane, Paulo Vitor Melo Sousa Filho and 2 others
PMID 39536166WHAT IT FOUND
Newborns with tongue-tie had longer suction bursts during a pacifier test.
Most other suction measures matched controls. Mothers of these babies reported more pain, but this small study cannot show the device predicts breastfeeding problems.
Key findings
01The study tested 55 babies, including 36 controls and 19 with ankyloglossia.
02Only mean suction burst duration differed (p=0.0003); suck frequency, suck duration, amplitude, RMS, and inter-burst interval were similar.
03Mothers of babies with ankyloglossia reported more pain (64% versus 22%, p=0.0094) and more long feedings (43% versus 16%, p=0.0623).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 19 babies had ankyloglossia, so the study could not separate different types or severity of tongue-tie. Suction was recorded with a pacifier, not during breastfeeding, so it may not show differences in nutritive sucking. The authors say future studies are needed to validate the device and to establish a link between non-nutritive suction monitoring, maternal pain, and breastfeeding capacity.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this pacifier test can diagnose ankyloglossia or decide whether to recommend frenotomy. The device measured non-nutritive sucking, most suction measures were similar between groups, and the authors say future studies are needed to validate links to breastfeeding capacity.