Spastic dysphonia: a patient profile of 200 cases

Abstract

A comprehensive case history profile of spastic dysphonia patients was established, using 200 patients matched to 200 controls. The case histories and epidemiologic profiles for male and female patients revealed few dissimilarities. Likewise, intergroup (patients-controls) health history profiles differed in only a few specific instances. The data suggest non-psychogenic, non-behavioral causation of spastic dysphonia; however, neither a definitive cluster or clusters of events at onset nor any unequivocal epidemiologic factor was accountable for spastic dysphonia. Short of qualified improvement with voice therapy in some patients, no form of treatment other than recurrent laryngeal nerve section was shown to be of any significant help for the patient population sampled.