Vocal quality of patients treated for laryngeal tuberculosis, before and after speech therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate dysphonia in patients treated for laryngeal tuberculosis, and to assess the effect of speech therapy on patients' vocal quality.


METHODS
Seven of 23 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of laryngeal tuberculosis, treated at the Evandro Chagas Institute of Clinical Research, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, underwent speech therapy for six months. These seven patients were evaluated by videolaryngoscopy and vocal acoustic analysis, before, during and after a course of speech therapy.


RESULTS
The 23 patients with laryngeal tuberculosis comprised five women and 18 men, with ages ranging from 25 to 83 years (mean 41.3 years). Dysphonia was present in 91.3 per cent of these laryngeal tuberculosis patients, being present as the first symptom in 82.6 per cent. In laryngeal tuberculosis patients with dysphonia, laryngeal tuberculosis treatment resulted in dysphonia resolution in only 15.8 per cent. After speech therapy, dysphonia patients had better vocal quality, as demonstrated by statistical analysis of jitter, shimmer, fundamental frequency variability, maximum phonation time, and the ratio between maximum phonation time for voiceless and voiced fricative sounds.


CONCLUSIONS
Following treatment of laryngeal tuberculosis, the incidence of dysphonia was very high. Speech therapy improved patients' vocal quality.
Ruas
A C Nunes
AC
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ana.ruas@ipec.fiocruz.br
Rolla
V Cavalcanti
VC
de Araújo-Melo
M H
MH
Moreira
J Soares
JS
Valete-Rosalino
C M
CM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D055154:Dysphonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000379:methods; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology; D013070:Speech Therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014387:Tuberculosis, Laryngeal / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014833:Voice Quality / Q000502:physiology