Efficacy of Voice Therapy in Improving Vocal Function in Adults Irradiated for Laryngeal Cancers: A Pilot Study.
Vrushali Angadi, Emily Dressler, Mahesh Kudrimoti and 4 others
PMID 31235195WHAT IT FOUND
Vocal function exercises plus hygiene counseling improved the physical domain of voice handicap and several objective measures, while hygiene alone did not.
The small sample size and unequal group attention mean these results are preliminary and cannot confirm efficacy.
Key findings
01The combined therapy group showed statistically significant improvement in the physical domain of the Voice Handicap Index, whereas the hygiene-only group did not.
02The combined therapy group demonstrated significant improvements in pitch range, maximum phonation time, and laryngeal imaging parameters, which were not seen in the hygiene-only group.
03There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the total Voice Handicap Index score, and the study failed to recruit the target sample size.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was underpowered, recruiting only 12 participants instead of the targeted 16, with only 10 analyzed. There was a significant imbalance in contact time: the VFE+VH group received weekly sessions, while the VH group received only one session, making it difficult to attribute effects solely to the exercises. Groups were unequal in sample size (4 vs 6) and cancer stage, with the VH group containing only early-stage cases and the VFE+VH group containing both early and advanced cases. Adherence to the exercise protocol was low, with only half of the VFE+VH group completing the prescribed dosage. The study population had heterogeneous characteristics regarding age, smoking status, and time since radiation, which limits generalizability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that VFEs are superior to hygiene counseling based on this study alone. The VFE group received significantly more therapist contact time than the hygiene-only group, and the sample was too small to rule out chance or confounding by attention.