Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Deep Brain Stimulation on Voice and Speech in Patients With Dystonia.
Mary E Finger, Mustafa S Siddiqui, Amy K Morris and 4 others
PMID 30879706WHAT IT FOUND
After bilateral deep brain stimulation for dystonia, voice and speech ratings did not show improvement at 6 months, but blinded ratings showed better voice grade, roughness, strain and less severe speech at 12 months.
Key findings
01At 6 months, blinded voice and speech ratings did not show improvement.
02At 12 months, blinded voice ratings showed better grade, roughness and strain, and speech severity ratings were lower.
03All 7 patients with 12-month data improved in at least one voice rating and in speech severity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was a retrospective chart review of a rare condition, with only 14 patients reviewed. Four patients were not analyzed at 6 months because of insufficient audio or loss to follow-up, and only 7 patients had pre-surgery and 12-month data. One patient lacked a pre-surgery voice and speech assessment and was excluded from analyses. Recordings were made during clinic visits, not in a controlled research setting. Deep brain stimulation programming was optimized for motor symptoms, not voice quality. The authors state improvement was not universal and prognostic factors are unknown.
Declared interests
The authors report no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not tell a patient with dystonia that bilateral deep brain stimulation will quickly improve voice and speech. The study was small and retrospective, voice and speech ratings did not show improvement at 6 months, and the authors say improvement was not universal.