Open AccessVocal Rehabilitation after Radiotherapy for Laryngeal Cancer—Pilot Study
Author(s) -
Tuomi Lisa,
Björkner Eva
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
otolaryngology–head and neck surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.232
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1097-6817
pISSN - 0194-5998
DOI - 10.1177/0194599812451438a8
Subject(s) - phonation , quality of life (healthcare) , audiology , rehabilitation , medicine , voice therapy , articulation (sociology) , radiation therapy , psychology , physical therapy , surgery , political science , law , nursing , politics
Objective Learning more about to what extent voice therapy with a speech‐language pathologist is an effective method for improved vocal function for patients with laryngeal cancer. Results from self‐evalutation forms as well as temporal and acoustical measures will be presented. The pilot participants are selected from a larger longitudinal study. Method Twenty patients were randomized to vocal rehabilitation (VRG) or to a control group (CG). Text reading and sustained vowel production, S‐SECEL (The Swedish Self Evaluation of Communication Experiences after Laryngeal Cancer) and vocal fatigue were recorded pre‐ and post‐voice therapy, 1 and 6 months after radiotherapy. Results Maximum phonation time increased for CG and decreased for VRG, but was longer than for CG. Vocal fatigue, assessed on a VA‐scale, as well as mean F0 decreased for both groups. Mean values of the total S‐SECEL score increased for CG and decreased with 16.7% for VRG indicating a better vocal function. For CG shimmer increased with 0.03 dB and decreased for VRG with 0.13 dB, indicating an improved voice quality. Mean harmonic‐to‐noise ratio improved for VRG while it deteriorated for CG. Conclusion Our results correspond with earlier studies on voice rehabilitation, showing an improved self‐evaluated communication (S‐SECEL) for VRG, which is also shown in the acoustic measures of voice quality. However, the expected result, with a more pronounced improvement for VRG in most dimensions is not supported.