Patau Syndrome: Speech Therapy Intervention in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: Patau syndrome is a genetic disease caused by the trisomy of chromosome 13. It may present multiple congenic anomalies, characterized by cleft lip and palate, polydactyly, ocular anomalies, visceral alterations with cardiac, renal, cerebral, and other malformations, with short life expectancy.

Objectives: Report case of a hospitalized newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit in a hospital of Porto Alegre.

Resumed Report: Male newborn with the following dysmorphias: microtia, discretely prominent forehead and occipital, facial hemangioma, large and bulbous nose, excess of skin in the neck, lateral cryptorchidism. Feeding was by orogastric tube, oral intake, and breast-feeding. He was using tracheostomy due to a severe laryngomalacia. The newborn attended to speech therapy monitoring with 43 days old, according to medical prescription. After evaluating the orofacial structures of the sensorimotor system, we obtained extended global posture, normotonia, retracted tongue, with alternated movements, and no cupped tongue configuration. Regarding oral reflexes, we found exacerbated bite, absent demand, weak, and arrhythmic sucking, with more than eight sucking per pause. Observed mother offering breast: Newborn performed closed latches with exhaust intraoral pressure. In the oral intake offer using finger feeding technique, there was milk expulsion by the tracheostomy.

Conclusion: Due to the risk of laryngotracheal aspiration, the medical and speech therapy teams decided to suspend the oral intake. The orogastric tube feeding remained and, because the baby has short life expectancy and for maintaining the mother-baby bond, it was decided to keep breast feeding, with caution.

Keywords: Deglutition, intensive care units, neonatal, syndrome.