Comparison of efficiency of different self-assessment instruments for screening dysphonia

Abstract

Purpose To compare the efficiency of different vocal self-assessment instruments for dysphonia screening. Methods 262 dysphonic and non-dysphonic individuals participated in the research. The mean age was 41.3 (±14.5) years. The diagnosis of dysphonia was based on the auditory-perceptual analysis of the sustained vowel “é” and on laryngological diagnosis. The responses of the instruments were collected: Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL), Voice Handicap Index (VHI), VHI-10, Voice Symptoms Scale (VoiSS), and the Brazilian Dysphonia Screening Tool, (Br-DST) called in Brazilian Portuguese Instrumento de Rastreio da Disfonia (IRDBR). To analyze assertiveness in relation to the presence of dysphonia, the cutoff points of each instrument and the decision rule recommended by the IRDBR were used. An exploratory analysis was performed to compare mean scores of instruments and verify associations between variables. Results The instruments evaluated were sensitive to capture the impact of dysphonia in a similar way regardless of professional voice use and type of dysphonia. There was a difference only in VoiSS scores for the variable gender, with a higher score for females. Regarding global assertiveness, the instruments showed high rates of success in classification, with emphasis on the VoiSS, which had the highest rate (86.3%), followed by the IRDBR (84.0%), VQL (80.9%), VHI (78.2%), and VHI-10 (75.2%). Conclusion The VoiSS has the highest assertiveness index in the identification of dysphonia, followed by the IRDBR. The IRDBR is a short, simple, and easy-to-apply tool for screening procedures.