A visual analog scale for patient‐reported voice outcomes: The VAS voice

Abstract

Objectives Although patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) can be useful for assessing quality of life, they can be complex and cognitively burdensome. In this study, we prospectively evaluated a simple patient‐reported voice assessment measure on a visual analog scale (VAS voice) and compared it with the Voice Handicap Index (VHI‐10). Study design Prospective survey. Methods An abbreviated voice measure was designed by a team of otolaryngologists, speech pathologists, and patients that consisted of four VAS questions related to (a) a global question of voice disturbance, (b) physical function of voice, (c) functional issues, and (d) emotional handicap. All English‐speaking patients presenting to an academic laryngology clinic for a voice complaint were included. Internal consistency and validity were assessed with comparison to the VHI‐10. Results A total of 209 patients were enrolled. Ninety‐two percent of patients reported understanding the survey. The four‐item VAS survey was highly correlated with VHI‐10 score (Pearson correlation .81, P < .0001), and the Cronbach's alpha between all four VAS questions was .94. Age, gender, and diagnosis were not associated with either the global VAS or VHI‐10 tool. Conclusion Reducing the complexity of instruments assessing voice‐related quality of life is feasible, and the VAS voice correlated with existing measures. Simplified assessments may offer advantages compared to more cumbersome PROMs. Level of Evidence 2c

Parámetros vocales para definir la severidad de una disfonía

“…Con los resultados presentados en este estudio es posible afirmar que existe un vínculo fuerte entre la severidad de la disfonía y la autopercepción de la voz medida a través de cuestionarios de autorreporte. La literatura ha referido que la autopercepción vocal de los pacientes es coherente con la severidad de la disfonía presentada [34,35,37,[39][40][41]44], aspecto que refuerza la importancia de utilizar este tipo de instrumentos en la evaluación de la voz.…”

“…Por último, es importante medir de manera objetiva la autopercepción vocal de la disfonía por parte del paciente [34,35]. Para ello se han creado diferentes instrumentos de autorreporte [11,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42] que permiten identificar la apreciación del sujeto sobre sus cualidades vocales y el grado de dificultad que observa a la hora de realizar tareas y actividades cotidianas [43][44][45]. Los datos registrados en estas mediciones suelen estar vinculados con el nivel de gravedad de la disfonía [36,37,40,41].…”

Laryngology Quality of Life Questionnaire Associations: Towards Reducing Survey Burden

“…Shortened PROMs may be beneficial in overcoming this barrier. Naunheim et al recently created a shortened, four‐question visual analog scale (VAS) to substitute for the validated PROM, VHI‐10 19 . These authors found that although their four questions attempted to distinguish between physical, functional, and emotional aspects of voice, their “VAS voice” (similar to the VHI‐10) demonstrated only one underlying construct that was being measured.…”

Simulated operation combined with patient-specific instrumentation technology is superior to conventional technology for supramalleolar osteotomy: A retrospective comparative study

“…To compare postoperative follow-up between the two groups, we carefully searched and collected imaging data to evaluate changes in the ankle angle and Takakura stage. Moreover, the pre-and post-operation American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score [18], ankle range of motion (ROM) [19], and visual analogue scale (VAS) [20] were used to assess functional outcomes.…”