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The clinical utility of vocal dosimetry for assessing voice rest
Author(s) -
Misono Stephanie,
Banks Kathryn,
Gaillard Philippe,
Goding George S.,
Yueh Bevan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.24887
Subject(s) - phonation , dosimeter , rest (music) , medicine , audiology , ambulatory , dosimetry , surgery , nuclear medicine
Objectives/Hypothesis Voice rest is frequently recommended following surgical disruption of vocal fold epithelium, but patients report variable adherence to voice rest recommendations. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical utility of an ambulatory vocal dosimeter for measuring adherence to voice rest recommendations. Study Design Outcomes research. Methods Part 1: To determine the utility of the dosimeter in nonclinical use, the relationship between self‐reported voice use and dosimeter measurements was examined in normal subjects (n = 11) who prospectively logged voice use while wearing the dosimeter. Part 2: To determine clinical utility of the dosimeter, patients undergoing vocal fold surgery for which postoperative voice rest was recommended (n = 11) wore a dosimeter for 2 days prior to and 2 days after surgery. Phonation percent and sound level were compared at baseline and during voice rest. Results The dosimeter performed as hypothesized with both normal subjects and patients. A moderate correlation ( r = 0.62) was noted between self‐reported voice use and dosimeter measurements in normal subjects. In patients on voice rest, a statistically and clinically significant decrease was observed in measured voice use, both in phonation time ( P = .002) and intensity of phonation ( P = .004). Conclusions Ambulatory vocal dosimetry may have clinical utility for assessing adherence to voice rest recommendations. This information will be useful for the design of future studies on voice rest. Level of Evidence 2c Laryngoscope , 125:171–176, 2015