Effectiveness of laryngostroboscopy for monitoring the evolution of vocal nodules after rehabilitator treatment

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the laryngostroboscopy for monitoring the evolution of patients with vocal nodules before and after the logopedic vocal treatment.

Methods: We performed a prospective observational study of 97 dysphonic patients diagnosed of vocal nodules, where we analyzed four stroboscopic parameters (glottal closure, vocal fold vibration, mucosal wave and phase symmetry) by a protocol based on systematic subjective evaluation of the stroboscopic images before and after the rehabilitator vocal treatment; and the results were stratified according to the clinical course.

Results: All patients, before the treatment, had some abnormality in at least one of the four analyzed aspects. After the vocal treatment, we found improvement of the four parameters in different degrees. Also, we found a statistically significant relationship between the evolution of each parameter and the clinical course.

Conclusion: We believe that the laryngostroboscopy, systematized through a protocol, is a useful technique for the diagnosis of structural abnormalities in patients with vocal nodules and is a useful technique for evaluating the results after the rehabilitator treatment, as there is a statistically significant relationship between clinical course and the change in the stroboscopic findings. However it should not be the only technique used for these proposes.