TY - JOUR
T1 - Indirect vs direct voice therapy for children with vocal nodules
T2 - A randomized clinical trial
AU - Hartnick, Christopher
AU - Ballif, Catherine
AU - De Guzman, Vanessa
AU - Sataloff, Robert
AU - Campisi, Paolo
AU - Kerschner, Joseph
AU - Shembel, Adrianna
AU - Reda, Domenic
AU - Shi, Helen
AU - Zacny, Elinore Sheryka
AU - Bunting, Glenn
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding/Support: This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (grant No. DC010371).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - IMPORTANCE: Benign vocal fold nodules affect 12%to 22%of the pediatric population, and 95%of otolaryngologists recommend voice therapy as treatment. However, no randomized clinical trials that we are aware of have shown its benefits. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of voice therapy in children with vocal fold nodules according to pretherapy and posttherapy scores on the Pediatric Voice-Related Quality of Life (PVRQOL) survey; secondary objectives included changes in phonatory parameters. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this multicenter randomized clinical trial, 114 children ages 6 to 10 years with vocal fold nodules, PVRQOL scores less than 87.5, and dysphonia for longer than 12 weeks were recruited from outpatient voice and speech clinics. This age range was identified because these patients have not experienced pubertal changes of the larynx, tolerate stroboscopy, and cooperate with voice therapy. Participants were blinded to treatment arm. INTERVENTIONS: Participants received either indirect or direct therapy for 8 to 12 weeks. Indirect therapy focused on education and discussion of voice principles, while direct treatment used the stimulus, response, antecedent paradigm. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome measurewas PVRQOL score change before and after treatment. Secondary phonatory measures were also compared. RESULTS: Overall, 114 children were recruited for study (mean [SD] age, 8 [1.4] years; 83 males [73%]); with 57 randomized to receive either indirect or direct therapy. Both direct and indirect therapy approaches showed significant differences in PVRQOL scores pretherapy to posttherapy. The mean increase in PVRQOL score for direct therapy was 19.2, and 14.7 for indirect therapy (difference, 4.5; 95.3%CI,-10.8 to 19.8). Of 44 participants in the direct therapy group, 27 (61%) achieved a clinically meaningful PVRQOL improvement, compared with 26 of 49 (53%) for indirect therapy (difference, 8%; 95%CI,-12 to 28). Post hoc stratification showed robust effects in the direct therapy group for older children (Cohen d = 0.50) and the latter two-thirds of participants (Cohen d = 0.46). Vocal fold nodules reduced in size in 31% (22 of 70) and completely resolved in 11% (8 of 70) of participants who consented to a second set of images after going through the recruitment process. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Both direct and indirect voice therapy improved voice-related quality of life in children with vocal fold nodules, although there was no significant difference between approaches. Future studiesmay focus upon which voice therapy approaches are effective in treating age-defined populations.
AB - IMPORTANCE: Benign vocal fold nodules affect 12%to 22%of the pediatric population, and 95%of otolaryngologists recommend voice therapy as treatment. However, no randomized clinical trials that we are aware of have shown its benefits. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of voice therapy in children with vocal fold nodules according to pretherapy and posttherapy scores on the Pediatric Voice-Related Quality of Life (PVRQOL) survey; secondary objectives included changes in phonatory parameters. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this multicenter randomized clinical trial, 114 children ages 6 to 10 years with vocal fold nodules, PVRQOL scores less than 87.5, and dysphonia for longer than 12 weeks were recruited from outpatient voice and speech clinics. This age range was identified because these patients have not experienced pubertal changes of the larynx, tolerate stroboscopy, and cooperate with voice therapy. Participants were blinded to treatment arm. INTERVENTIONS: Participants received either indirect or direct therapy for 8 to 12 weeks. Indirect therapy focused on education and discussion of voice principles, while direct treatment used the stimulus, response, antecedent paradigm. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome measurewas PVRQOL score change before and after treatment. Secondary phonatory measures were also compared. RESULTS: Overall, 114 children were recruited for study (mean [SD] age, 8 [1.4] years; 83 males [73%]); with 57 randomized to receive either indirect or direct therapy. Both direct and indirect therapy approaches showed significant differences in PVRQOL scores pretherapy to posttherapy. The mean increase in PVRQOL score for direct therapy was 19.2, and 14.7 for indirect therapy (difference, 4.5; 95.3%CI,-10.8 to 19.8). Of 44 participants in the direct therapy group, 27 (61%) achieved a clinically meaningful PVRQOL improvement, compared with 26 of 49 (53%) for indirect therapy (difference, 8%; 95%CI,-12 to 28). Post hoc stratification showed robust effects in the direct therapy group for older children (Cohen d = 0.50) and the latter two-thirds of participants (Cohen d = 0.46). Vocal fold nodules reduced in size in 31% (22 of 70) and completely resolved in 11% (8 of 70) of participants who consented to a second set of images after going through the recruitment process. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Both direct and indirect voice therapy improved voice-related quality of life in children with vocal fold nodules, although there was no significant difference between approaches. Future studiesmay focus upon which voice therapy approaches are effective in treating age-defined populations.
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U2 - 10.1001/jamaoto.2017.2618
DO - 10.1001/jamaoto.2017.2618
M3 - Article
C2 - 29270612
AN - SCOPUS:85042055646
SN - 2168-6181
VL - 144
SP - 156
EP - 162
JO - JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
JF - JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
IS - 2
ER -