Voice Improvement after Voice Therapy in Female Patients with Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis after Thyroid Surgery

INTRODUCTION

Dysphonic voice is present in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). The aim of this study was to present outcomes following rehabilitation of patients with UVFP, performed according to a voice therapy protocol.

METHODS

This prospective study comprised 27 women with UVFP who underwent pre- and post-voice therapy assessment. The mean age of patients was 53.19 ± 10.06 years. The protocol included the following: (1) multidimensional assessment of voice quality before treatment; (2) digital laryngeal manipulation voice therapy; (3) voice therapy evaluation which implied repeated multidimensional assessment of voice.

RESULTS

The results showed improvement in voice quality following voice therapy with regard to the parameters of the objective voice analysis (maximum fundamental frequency of voice, minimum intensity of voice, jitter, shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and signal-to-noise ratio, p ˂ 0.05), maximum phonation time, subjective analysis of voice, as well as self-assessment of voice quality on all the subscales and overall score (p ˂ 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Implementing a protocol provides clear guidelines at each stage of the treatment. Voice therapy performed using digital laryngeal manipulation improves the majority of the acoustic and perceptual characteristics of the voice.

Adaptation and Validation of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI)-30 into Serbian

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and clinical validity of the Serbian version of the self-administered Voice Handicap Index (VHI)-30.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The English version of VHI-30 was translated into Serbian and then back-translated into English. The Serbian VHI-30 was administered to 91 patients divided into four groups according to voice pathology: structural, inflammatory, neurologic, and functional groups. The control group included 90 subjects with no voice problems. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient α), test-retest reliability (interclass correlation coefficient) of VHI-30, comparison of patient's and control's VHI-30 scores (Mann-Whitney U test; Kruskal-Wallis test), and correlation with overall severity of dysphonia (Spearman correlation coefficient, ρ) were calculated.

RESULTS

In the patient group, we observed excellent internal consistency for the Serbian VHI-30 (α = 0.95) and good internal consistency for all VHI-30 subscales: physical (α = 0.88), functional (α = 0.88), and emotional (α = 0.88). The interclass correlation coefficient indicated strong test-retest reliability for patients (0.99) and controls (0.84). The mean scores of all 30 items in dysphonic participants were significantly higher than in controls (P < 0.001). Good correlation was obtained between the total scores of VHI-30 and patients' self-perceived overall severity of dysphonia (ρ = 0.748, P < 0.001). Within the patient group, the female participants displayed significantly higher VHI-30 scores than male participants (Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.001). The VHI-30 scores showed strong correlation within different patient groups and controls (Spearman correlation coefficient: structural, 0.942; inflammatory, 0.756; neurologic, 0.888; functional, 0.982; controls, 0.882).

CONCLUSIONS

The Serbian VHI-30 is a useful and valuable tool for the evaluation of patients with vocal disorders and for making subsequent clinical decisions.

Knowledge About Head and Neck Cancer in the Population of Vojvodina: A Comparative Study

In 2009, the Institute of Oncology of Vojvodina reported the total of 553 newly registered patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) in the Province of Vojvodina, with a lethal outcome in 332 HNC patients. These facts impose the need of investigating the health education of the general population and proposing possible prevention measures. The present prospective study included 200 subjects classified into two groups. Group 1 (100 subjects) consisted of randomly selected adults from urban and rural regions of Vojvodina. Group II (100 subjects) included the adults from the same regions affected by HNC. All subjects answered the anonymous questionnaire which complied with the standards of a similar European Union research project "About Face". The results showed that 96% of the subjects from the Group II and only 77% of the subjects from the Group I were familiar with the term "head and neck cancer" what represented a significant difference. The results from Vojvodina were significantly better than those from the European study (23%). Most subjects were informed about HNC through television programs (60%), hospital leaflets (41%) or internet (37%). Both the patients and the citizens of Vojvodina were better informed about the most common localizations of HNC-pharynx and larynx, but less informed about other HNC localizations than the citizens of seven European countries. The citizens and the HNC patients from Vojvodina were equally well informed about some risk factors (e.g., smoking, alcoholism, aging and sun exposure) as the citizens in Europe. Both the patients and the general population of Vojvodina are mostly worried about the consequences/side effects of the applied surgical treatment. The obtained results may be a good starting point in the prevention and early detection of HNC in Vojvodina.

Articulation of sounds in Serbian language in patients who learned esophageal speech successfully

INTRODUCTION

Articulation of pronounced sounds during the training and subsequent use of esophageal speech is very important because it contributes significantly to intelligibility and aesthetics of spoken words and sentences, as well as of speech and language itself. The aim of this research was to determine the quality of articulation of sounds of Serbian language by groups of sounds in patients who had learned esophageal speech successfully as well as the effect of age and tooth loss on the quality of articulation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This retrospective-prospective study included 16 patients who had undergone total laryngectomy. Having completed the rehabilitation of speech, these patient used esophageal voice and speech. The quality of articulation was tested by the "Global test of articulation."

RESULTS

Esophageal speech was rated with grade 5, 4 and 3 in 62.5%, 31.3% and one patient, respectively. Serbian was the native language of all the patients. The study included 30 sounds of Serbian language in 16 subjects (480 total sounds). Only two patients (12.5%) articulated all sounds properly, whereas 87.5% of them had incorrect articulation.

CONCLUSION

The articulation of affricates and fricatives, especially sound /h/ from the group of the fricatives, was found to be the worst in the patients who had successfully mastered esophageal speech. The age and the tooth loss of patients who have mastered esophageal speech do not affect the articulation of sounds in Serbian language.

Is an occupation with vocal load a risk factor for laryngopharyngeal reflux: a prospective, multicentre, multivariate comparative study

OBJECTIVES

To compare the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux in choristers, teachers and control subjects without vocal load at work and to determine the risk factors for laryngopharyngeal reflux.

DESIGN

A prospective, multicentre, multivariate comparative study.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred and nineteen singers from four professional choirs, seventy teachers from four schools and 111 control subjects with an occupation without vocal load.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

All participants completed a questionnaire about their dietary habits, height and weight, presence of stress, smoking and allergies, including the nine-item Reflux Symptom Index. The groups of choristers, teachers and the controls were compared with each other with regard to their sex, age, dietary habits, body-mass index, Reflux Symptom Index score and other factors affecting voice quality. The subjects from all three groups with suspected laryngopharyngeal reflux were compared with the subjects without it. The relationship between the Reflux Symptom Index score and the possible risk factors for reflux was estimated.

RESULTS

The results showed significantly higher Reflux Symptom Index scores in the choristers than in the teachers and the controls (mean scores, 7.86 versus 6.33, P = 0.044; 7.86 versus 4.80, P = 0.000, respectively), but the number of subjects with suspected laryngopharyngeal reflux (Reflux Symptom Index score >13) did not differ significantly between the groups. The choristers were significantly more often treated for laryngopharyngeal reflux than the teachers and the controls (41%, 17% and 28%, respectively). The occupation chorister and frequently experiencing stress were the only factors that influenced the total Reflux Symptom Index score.

CONCLUSIONS

Laryngopharyngeal reflux affects the choristers more often than the teachers or the control subjects without vocal load at work. These results suggest that singing as the main professional activity can notably contribute to the development of the reflux. Vocal load without singing is probably not an important aetiological factor for laryngopharyngeal reflux. The extraoesophageal symptoms affecting voice require treatment for laryngopharyngeal reflux and proper dietary habits especially in the group with high voice quality demands.

[Unilateral laryngeal paralysis]

INTRODUCTION

Phoniatric rehabilitation is mainly aimed at restoring satisfactory phonation. Voice quality depends on the capacity of intact vocal cords to compensate the deficiency involved, as well as on automatism of phonation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 50 patients. All subjects underwent history taking, reported symptoms that urged them to visit a phoniatrician; they were submitted to a clinical otorhinolaryngologic and phoniatric examinations, voice assessment by subjective acoustic analysis, spectral analysis by digital sonography and laryngostroboscopy. All patients underwent Seeman's method of laryngeal compression.

RESULTS

The examined group of 50 subjects included 17 males (34%) and 33 females (66%). Vocal cord palsy was most often due to neck surgery (strumectomy) in 19 patients (38%), followed by an idiopathic palsy involved in 12 patients (24%). Disocclusion of 1-2 mm and 3-3 mm was registered in 54% and 24% patients, respectively. After treatment total occlusion was established in 20% of patients, while disocclusion of up to 1 mm, 1-2 mm or 2-3 mm persisted in 36%, 20% and 2% of patients, respectively. T-test revealed a statistically significant difference in glottic incompetence prior to and after treatment (p < 0.01). After treatment, using Seeman's method of digital compression of the larynx, 48% of patients regained satisfactory speech and voice clarity and 50% of them still presented mild dysphonia. Moderate dysphonia was registered in 2%, but none of the patients had severe dysphonia.

DISCUSSION

Central laryngeal palsies made 4% of our examined group, while according to the literature they make 1.2-8.7% of all laryngeal palsies. In majority of cases, paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve was due to neck surgery (38%), but literature reports indicate that iatrogenic palsies are mostly due to operation of the thyroid. The well known fact that the left recurrent nerve is more frequently paralysed, has been confirmed in our study as well.

CONCLUSION

Accurate and efficient treatment of unilateral laryngeal palsies requires team work. Phoniatric rehabilitation of the disorder using Seeman's method has proved efficient in diminishing the glottic incompetence and dysphonia. Patients who fail to respond to phoniatric rehabilitation should be treated using other therapeutic modalities.