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Background and purpose: Vocal nodules are the main cause of voice disorders in children, which can be caused by several behaviors such as excessive speaking and yelling, and can significantly impact their overall communication development. Different nonmedical treatments exist for vocal nodules, but there is no consensus on the most effective methods. The aim of the present systematic review was to study the nonmedical interventions for vocal nodules in children. Materials and methods: The systematic search was performed in electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, ISI (Web of Science), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Google Scholar. The search involved articles published between 2000 and 2022. The following terms were used as keywords: vocal nodule, vocal fold nodules, therapy, treatment, intervention, voice disorder, pediatric, and telepractice. Studies were selected if they 1) had examined 0-18-year-old subjects with vocal fold nodules; 2) had obviously stated the kind, process, and evaluation tools and also 3) the kind and the process of the interventions and the intervention groups; 4) had provided nonmedical interventions; 5) had been published in English and after 2000; and 6) presented the outcome data. The methodological quality of the papers was evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Results: We identified 729 articles, of which 11 met the inclusion criteria. These studies were different in the study design, participant characteristics, types of assessments, types of interventions, and follow-up periods. According to findings, nonmedical treatments of vocal nodules were successful in elimination of/decreasing the vocal nodules sizes (four studies), improving the quality of life (two studies), and improving acoustic parameters of voice (nine studies). Conclusion: The present systematic review showed the effectiveness of nonmedical treatment of vocal nodules in children, despite being challenging. Further researches are required to have higher levels of evidence, more accurate methodological quality, and long-term follow-up evaluations to draw more accurate conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Exposure to lead and its effects on children's health is one of the most important and widespread concerns of human societies today. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic study was to evaluate blood lead levels in Iranian children. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Scientific Information Database (SID), and Iran Medex databases were comprehensively searched for papers published from 2005 to the end of October 2021. Studies that reported blood lead levels in Iranian children were collected. Then the articles were evaluated according to a pre-prepared checklist. Results: Of a total of 143 articles found in the initial search, 13 studies were included in our systematic review. The lowest and highest mean blood lead levels were 0.65 micrograms per deciliter in Abadan and 57.1 micrograms per deciliter in Mashhad, respectively. In three studies conducted in Mashhad and Isfahan, blood lead levels were reported to be higher than 5 Micrograms per deciliter in all children studied. The level of education of the father, the use of canned food, the habit of eating soil by the child, damage to the paint of the house, and the reduction of blood iron levels were the effective factors in increasing the blood lead levels in Iranian children. Conclusion: Due to the high prevalence of blood lead samples above 5 micrograms per deciliter in some studies, reducing the exposure to lead should be seriously pursued by health policy makers and health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]