The voice assessment of 63 patients with larynx leukoplakia / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective: To search for sensitive indicators for the voice assessment of patients with larynx leukoplakia and to analyze the clinical relevance of voice assessment in diagnosis of larynx leukoplakia. Methods: Sixty-three patients with larynx leukoplakia (including 47 males and 16 females) were subjected to voice assessment by Dr. Speech software and the values of Jitter, Shimmer, normalized noise energy (NNE), harmonics-to-noise ratios (HNR), and fundamental frequency (Fo) were calculated. The results of the 47 male leukoplakia patients and 16 females were compared with those of normal controls (male 30, female 30) and of patients with vocal cord polyp (male 30, female 30). Results: The Jitter and Shimmer values of male leukoplakia patients were obviously higher than those of normal controls and patients with vocal cord polyp; their HNR value was lower than those of normal controls and higher than those of patients with vocal cord polyp; their NNE value was lower than those of normal controls and patients with vocal cord polyp (all P<0.05); and their Fo value was similar to those of normal controls and patients with vocal cord polyp. Female leukoplakia patients had a similar result to the male ones. Conclusion: The Jitter, Shimmer, NNE, and HNR values can be used as sensitive indicators for voice assessment of patients with larynx leukoplakia; among them the Jitter and Shimmer values have the strongest sensitivity and can be used as indicators for diagnosis and prognosis of larynx leukoplakia.