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Acoustic measurements are useful therapeutic indicators of patients with dysphonia-related to reflux

  • Laryngology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Objectives

The objective is to study the usefulness of acoustic measurements as therapeutic outcomes for patients with dysphonia related to laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).

Methods

From September 2019 to April 2021, 120 patients with LPR at the hypopharyngeal-esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance pH-monitoring (HEMII-pH) were prospectively recruited from three University Hospitals. They were divided in two groups regarding the presence of dysphonia. The treatment consisted of a combination of diet, proton-pump inhibitors, magaldrate and alginate for 3–6 months. The following clinical and acoustic evaluations were studied regarding groups at baseline, 3- and 6-month posttreatment: reflux symptom score (RSS), reflux sign assessment (RSA), percent jitter, percent shimmer and noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR).

Results

A total of 109 patients completed the evaluations, accounting for 49 dysphonic and 60 non-dysphonic individuals. HEMII-pH, gastrointestinal endoscopy, baseline clinical and acoustic features were comparable between groups. RSS and RSA significantly improved from pre- to 3-month posttreatment in both groups. Jitter, Shimmer and NHR significantly improved from pre- to 3-month posttreatment in dysphonic patients, without additional 3- to 6-month posttreatment changes. Acoustic parameters did not change throughout treatment in patients without dysphonia.

Conclusion

Acoustic measurements may be an interesting indicator of treatment in LPR patients who reported dysphonia. In this group of individuals, the evolution of acoustic parameters was consistent with the evolution of symptoms and findings.

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Acknowledgements

Vesale Grant & IRIS-Recherche Grant (Foundation Roi Baudouin).

Funding

This research has been subsidized by the Vesale Grant and the IRIS-Recherche Grant.

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Author notes

  1. Stéphane Hans and Alexandra Rodriguez have equally contributed to this work and should be regarded as joint last authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Elsan Hospital, Paris, France

    Jerome R. Lechien & Marta P. Circiu

  2. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Foch Hospital, School of Medicine, University Paris Saclay, Paris, France

    Jerome R. Lechien, Lise Crevier-Buchman, Marta P. Circiu & Stéphane Hans

  3. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, CHU Saint-Pierre, Brussels, Belgium

    Jerome R. Lechien, Sven Saussez, Géraldine Nowak & Alexandra Rodriguez

  4. Department of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, UMONS Research Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, University of Mons (UMons), Avenue du Champ de mars, 6, B7000, Mons, Belgium

    Jerome R. Lechien

Authors
  1. Jerome R. Lechien
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  2. Sven Saussez
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  3. Géraldine Nowak
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  4. Lise Crevier-Buchman
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  5. Marta P. Circiu
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  6. Alexandra Rodriguez
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  7. Stéphane Hans
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jerome R. Lechien.

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Authors have no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

IRB approved the study protocol (CHUB2020-12). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from patients enrolled in the study. Electronic informed consent was obtained from all individual participants.

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Lechien, J.R., Saussez, S., Nowak, G. et al. Acoustic measurements are useful therapeutic indicators of patients with dysphonia-related to reflux. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 279, 3543–3549 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07283-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07283-0

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