Summary
Objective
To evaluate results of telerehabilitation (TR) during the coronavirus disease 2019
pandemic for the treatment of dysphonia caused by permanent post-thyroidectomy unilateral
vocal fold paralysis (UVFP).
Methods
Forty subjects with post-thyroidectomy UVFP (onset <1 month) underwent TR. Videostrobolaryngoscopy,
acoustic and perceptual voice analysis and patient self-assessment were carried out
in person before, at the end of TR and 6 months later.
Results
Twenty-five subjects spontaneously recovered full vocal fold motility at some time
during follow-up, whereas 15 had a permanent UVFP at the end of the follow-up period.
These subjects constituted our study group. At the early posttherapy control 10/15
subjects (66.6%) showed a complete glottal closure, while in 5/15 (33.3%) a glottal
gap remained (P = 0.03). These results did not change 6 months after TR. At the late posttherapy
control the maximum phonation time improved significantly (P = 0.02). Both post-therapy Voice Handicap Index scores were significantly lower than
the pre-therapy ones (P = 0.04). Grade, Breathiness, and Asthenia parameters of the Grade–Roughness–Breathiness–Asthenia–Strain
scale improved 6 months after TR (P < 0.05). The number of voice signals suitable for acoustic analysis increased significantly
after therapy. Finally, 87% of patients were satisfied with TR.
Conclusions
With careful patient selection, TR may be considered as a promising method for voice
therapy in postthyroidectomy UVFP.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 28, 2022
Accepted:
April 5,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofFootnotes
No source of funding.
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
