Vocal quality of patients treated for laryngeal tuberculosis, before and after speech therapy

Abstract

Following treatment of laryngeal tuberculosis, the incidence of dysphonia was very high. Speech therapy improved patients' vocal quality.

Evaluation of Voice Disorders in Patients with Active Laryngeal Tuberculosis

“…We did not find in the literature a single report on voice disorder assessment in LTB patients with active lesions. The papers published report functional alterations after medical treatment [ 13 , 15 ]. Considering that voice disorders were still present in more than 80% treated LTB cases [ 13 ], we can assume that this alteration begins during the active phase of the disease and is perpetuated due to the LTB lesion scarring process or by functional adjustment mechanisms developed during the phase of voice functional limitation.…”

“…The papers published report functional alterations after medical treatment [ 13 , 15 ]. Considering that voice disorders were still present in more than 80% treated LTB cases [ 13 ], we can assume that this alteration begins during the active phase of the disease and is perpetuated due to the LTB lesion scarring process or by functional adjustment mechanisms developed during the phase of voice functional limitation. It is possible that speech-language guidance given to patients during LTB treatment is able to prevent the compensatory mechanisms that lead to the perpetuation of voice disorders, thus restoring the quality of communication and reducing vocal and social impacts of the disease, even before the end of medical treatment.…”

“…2—Vocal acoustic analysis with VoxMetria software (CTS Informática, PatoBranco, Brasil), with voice recording of all patients in quiet environment, directly in the computer for better voice capture. We used a Plantronix-model A-20 microphone, with a 10 cm mouth-microphone distance, during the emission of the /e/ sustained vowel at normal condition[ 13 ].The parameters used in the present study were: Jitter which indicates the variability of the fundamental frequency perturbation in the short term, with normal pattern up to 0.6%; Shimmer, which indicates the variability of the amplitude of the vocal note in the short term and with normal values above 6.5% and measures of Glottal to Noise Excitation Ratio (GNE), which is an acoustic measure to assess noise in a pulse train that is typically generated by the oscillation of the vocal folds, with normal values below 0.5 (dimensionless).…”

Comparison of Maximum Phonation Duration and S/Z Ratio in Individuals with Asthma, Tuberculosis and Clinically Normal Voice

“…22 Ruas et al also reported improved voice quality and maximum phonation time and Improved S/Z ratio in patient with tuberculosis following voice therapy. 20 In this study, there was a predominance of normal group over the asthma and tuberculosis group with respect to all variables compared. Lack of confounding factors like age, sex and severity of disease are mentioned as the limitations of this study.…”

“…19 Ruas et al found improved maximum phonation duration and S/Z ratio in patient with tuberculosis after speech therapy. 20 Fagundes et al found improved maximum phonation duration in patient with tuberculosis by four second following speech therapy. 21 According to the literature, pulmonary tuberculosis can cause a reduction in loudness since the expiratory air volume is the source of the aerodynamic energy for phonation.…”