Use of a revised children's implant profile (GOSHChIP) in candidacy for paediatric cochlear implantation and in predicting outcome.

The aims of this study were to investigate statistically the way a revised version of the children's implant profile (GOSHChIP) is used to inform candidacy decisions and explore its utility in predicting outcomes in the first three years of implant use. A retrospective case series analysis design was employed. Data were collated for 127 children with a mean age of 4.7 years at implantation. Concerns in a number of areas of the child's pre-implant functioning as rated on the GOSHChIP (spoken or manual communication skills, cognitive abilities, family structure and support, and use of hearing aids) were associated with speech perception and intelligibility outcomes following implantation. In terms of non-verbal cognitive abilities, the score on tests of fluid reasoning skills (sequencing), that contributes to the cognitive factor on the GOSHChIP, was found to significantly predict speech perception and speech intelligibility post implant. The GOSHChIP is a useful tool in making paediatric cochlear implant candidacy decisions, and in forming a guide for counselling parents about the potential benefit their child may receive from an implant.