Efficacy of voice laboratory in evaluation of treatment in Dysphonic patients

ABSTRACT

Evaluations of voice disorders include clinical assessment [subjective] and Voice Laboratory Measurements [VLM] which use objective criteria to evaluate the severity of voice disorders. The purpose of this 2 years prospective team work study [during 2004 - 2006] was to determine the efficacy of voice laboratory analysis in evaluation of treatment in dysphonic patients, in comparison with clinical [subjective] evaluation. This study was done on 50 patients [42 males and 8 females] with voice disorders. All of the patients underwent complete ENT and neurological examinations and also complete voice lab evaluation with Visi pitch instrument and computer speech lab [CSL], both before and after appropriate treatment. Then the results of objective and subjective evaluations compared statically with the last version of SPSS software. We performed at least 5 voice parameters including fundamental frequency, phonation quotient, pitch range, percentage voiced and perturbation. Only 8 patients [16%] had statistically significant improvement in data base of voice lab parameters and the rest patients [84%] although showed some improvement but without statistically significance. Overall, the sensitivity of voice lab was 80%. Some degree of changes was observed in all of the parameters before and after treatment. In the case of perturbation [t = 3.53 and P<0.01] and jitter [t = 2.43 and P<0.05] there was significant differences with good statistical correlations