Efficacy of intensive voice therapy for patients with vocal fold nodules

ABSTRACT Introduction Vocal nodules are known to be one of the most common benign lesions, commonly situated at the junction of anterior one third and posterior two third of vocal folds. Voice therapy is considered to be the gold standard of treatment of vocal fold nodule. Objectives To determine the efficacy of voice therapy in the treatment of vocal fold nodules and to identify any possible reason for failure to voice therapy in managing vocal fold nodules. Materials and methods A prospective study, conducted over a period of 6 months. Eighteen adult patients diagnosed with vocal fold nodules at a tertiary care hospital were subjected to 6 weeks of voice therapy. Pre and post therapy subjective (Voice Handicap Index-10) and objective (Rigid fiber optic laryngoscopy) evaluation was done. Patients with no improvement after 6 weeks of voice therapy underwent micro laryngeal surgery. All patients were followed up at 3 months and 6 months. Results In majority of patients, objective and subjective voice outcome parameters were significantly improved after voice therapy. Although a few cases showed no significant improvement after therapy, they recovered completely after microlaryngoscopic surgery. It was found that patients who required surgery even after voice therapy had hard nodules. How to cite this article Bakat B, Gupta A, Roy A, Roychoudhury A, Raychaudhuri BK. Does Voice Therapy Cure All Vocal Fold Nodules? Int J Phonosurg Laryngol 2014;4(2):55-59.

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The treatment and results of voice therapy amongst professional classical singers with vocal fold nodules

Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology ◽

10.1080/14015430600852043 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 178-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Semyon I. Chernobelsky

Keyword(s):

Vocal Fold ◽

Voice Therapy ◽

Classical Singers ◽

Vocal Fold Nodules

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Effectiveness of voice therapy in patients with vocal fold nodules: a systematic search and narrative review

European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology ◽

10.1007/s00405-020-06059-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 277 (11) ◽

pp. 2951-2966

Author(s):

Rita Alegria ◽

Susana Vaz Freitas ◽

Maria Conceição Manso

Keyword(s):

Vocal Fold ◽

Narrative Review ◽

Systematic Search ◽

Voice Therapy ◽

Vocal Fold Nodules

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Maximum and Minimum Phonatory Glottal Area before and after Treatment for Vocal Nodules

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare8030326 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 326

Author(s):

Cheng-Ming Hsu ◽

Ming-Yu Yang ◽

Tuan-Jen Fang ◽

Ching-Yuan Wu ◽

Yao-Te Tsai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vocal Fold ◽

Waveform Analysis ◽

Voice Therapy ◽

Maximum Phonation Time ◽

Vocal Fold Vibration ◽

Before And After ◽

Vocal Nodules ◽

Imagej Software ◽

And Function ◽

Vocal Fold Nodules

Background: Vocal fold nodules (VFNs) are a challenge for otolaryngologists. Glottal area (GA) waveform analysis is an examination method used for assessing vocal fold vibration and function. However, GA in patients with VFNs has rarely been studied. This study investigated the maximum and minimum GA in VFN patients using modern waveform analysis combining ImageJ software and videostroboscopy. Methods: This study enrolled 42 patients newly diagnosed with VFN, 15 of whom received voice therapy and 27 of whom underwent surgery. Acoustic parameters and maximum phonation time (MPT) were recorded, and patients completed the Chinese Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-C10) before and after treatment. After videostroboscopy examination, the maximum and minimum GAs were calculated using ImageJ software. The GAs of patients with VFNs before and after surgery or voice therapy were analyzed. Results: The MPTs of the patients before and after voice therapy or surgery did not change significantly. VHI-C10 scores decreased after voice therapy but the decrease was nonsignificant (14.0 ± 8.44 vs. 9.40 ± 10.24, p = 0.222); VHI-C10 scores were significantly decreased after surgery (22.53 ± 7.17 vs. 12.75 ± 9.84, p = 0.038). Voice therapy significantly increased the maximum GA (5.58 ± 2.41 vs. 8.65 ± 3.17, p = 0.012) and nonsignificantly decreased the minimum GA (0.60 ± 0.73 vs. 0.21 ± 0.46, p = 0.098). Surgery nonsignificantly increased the maximum GA (6.34 ± 3.82 vs. 8.73 ± 5.57, p = 0.118) and significantly decreased the minimum GA (0.30 ± 0.59 vs. 0.00 ± 0.00, p = 0.036). Conclusion: This study investigated the GA of patients with VFNs who received voice therapy or surgery. The findings indicated that voice therapy significantly increased maximum GA and surgery significantly decreased minimum GA. GA analysis could be applied to evaluate the efficacy of voice therapy, and it may help physicians to develop precise treatment for VFN patients (either by optimizing voice therapy or by performing surgery directly).

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