Patient-Perceived Vocal Effort Immediately Following Voice Tasks in Adductor Laryngeal Dystonia (ADLD).
Cara L Sauder, Katherine L Marks, Tanya K Meyer and 5 others
PMID 39643552WHAT IT FOUND
When patients with adductor laryngeal dystonia rated vocal effort immediately after a reading task, scores on a visual analog scale and the OMNI-VES were strongly related.
However, these effort ratings showed only weak links to voice-related quality of life scores. Clinicians need to track both.
Key findings
01Patient-perceived vocal effort ratings on a visual analog scale and the OMNI-VES were strongly correlated when obtained immediately after a vocal activity.
02Vocal effort ratings were only weakly related to voice-related quality of life scores, suggesting they measure different aspects of the patient's experience.
03Patient-perceived vocal effort was moderately related to clinicians' auditory-perceptual ratings of overall voice severity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The order of the effort ratings was not randomized; all patients completed the visual analog scale before the OMNI-VES, which could influence how they interpreted the second scale. The study used correlation statistics, so it cannot prove that changes in one measure cause changes in another. The sample was heterogeneous, and the study did not analyze how factors like age, tremor presence, or duration of botulinum toxin treatment affected the results. Most participants were tested at the end of their botulinum toxin cycle, so the findings may not apply to patients in the middle of their treatment window or those not receiving injections.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests or personal relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a patient's reported vocal effort level predicts their voice-related quality of life. The study found only weak correlations between these two measures, meaning a patient can report high effort but still have a moderate quality of life score, or vice versa. You must assess both separately.