VIDEOSTROBOSCOPY - Rigid Transoral Approach as Above - note: flexible transnasal endoscopic viewing of the larynx (either fiberoptic or, now more commonly, distal chip) approach is generally a more useful examination for patients with movement disorders such as laryngeal tremor/spasmodic dysphonia/muscle tension dysphonia.
- Procedure
- The larynx is imaged stroboscopically and recorded on videotape while the patient is instructed to produce a sustained /i/ sound as follows:
- Comfortable loudness, comfortable pitch
- Comfortable loudness, high pitch (falsetto)
- Comfortable loudness, low pitch (above glottal fry)
- Comfortable pitch, very soft
- Comfortable pitch, louder
- Comfortable pitch, loud as possible (without discomfort)
- The larynx is imaged stroboscopically and recorded on videotape while the patient is instructed to produce a sustained /i/ sound as follows:
- Documentation and Interpretation
- Scope used (the clinician notes one of the following)
- Flexible
- Rigid
- Both
- Type of examination (the clinician notes one of the following)
- Failed
- Endoscopy only
- Stroboscopy only
- Stroboscopy with EGG (electroglottography).
- Quality of examination (the clinician notes one of the following)
- Excellent
- Good
- Fair
- Poor
- Glottal closure (the clinician notes one of the following)
- Complete
- Inconsistent
- Incomplete
- Supraglottic compression (the clinician rates from 1 to 5 where 1 = none and 5 = severe)
- Mucosal wave (the clinician notes one of the following)
- 1 = normal
- 2 = small or absent
- 3 = great (excessive)
- Amplitude symmetry (the clinician notes one of the following)
- 1 = normal symmetry
- 2 = Left > Right
- 3 = Right > Left
- Right fold amplitude is rated by the clinician from 1 to 5 where 1 = normal amplitude and 5 = fixed (no vibratory movement)
- Left fold amplitude is rated by the clinician from 1 to 5 where 1 = normal amplitude and 5 = fixed (no vibratory movement)
- Phase asymmetry (the clinician rates from 1 to 5 where 1 = never irregular and 5 = always irregular)
- Vocal fold edge (the clinician rates from 1 to 5 where 1 = smooth/straight and 5 = rough/irregular)
- Adynamic segments (the clinician notes one of the following for each of the true vocal folds)
- None
- Adynamic segments noted
- Scope used (the clinician notes one of the following)
- Diagnosis
- Primary diagnosis (consensus between the physician and speech pathologist)
- Secondary diagnosis (consensus between the physician and speech pathologist)
- Other observations
- Recommendations
- Follow-up evaluation
- Vocal conservation
- Voice therapy
- OHNS follow-up
- Voice rest
- Referral to a singing teacher
- Other (described in detail where indicated)
CASE EXAMPLE OF NORMAL FEMALE VIDEOSTROBOSCOPY (transoral rigid) - see above
VIDEOENDOSCOPY FOR PATIENTS WITH VOCAL TREMOR OR SPASMODIC DYSPHONIA
- Flexible Endoscopic Procedure
- Quiet breathing
- Sniff 3 times rapidly
- Prolonged sniff 2 times
- Glide /i/ from low pitch to high pitch
- Breathe - /i/ - breathe (repeat)
- /i/ repeat 7 times
- /si/ repeat 7 times
- /pi/ repeat 7 times
- /mi/ repeat 7 times
- /si-i/ repeat 7 times
- /I-si/ repeat 7 times
- Repeat the following sentences 2 different times
- We need meaning men
- She speaks pleasingly
- Peter will keep at the peak
- Count from 1 to 10
- Say the days of the week
- Say the months of the year
- Interpretation
- Subjective interpretation of tremor, and glottic and supraglottic spasms performed by the speech pathologist and physician
- Diagnosis
- Consensus diagnosis from the physician and speech pathologist recorded.
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REFERENCES
Baken RJ. Clinical Measurement of Speech and Voice. Boston, Mass: College-Hill Press; 1987.
Bless DM, Hirano M. Estimation of airflow and MTP as a clinical tool. Paper presented at: The American Speech, Language and Hearing Associate Convention. November 1982; Toronto, Canada.
Colton RH, Casper, JK. Understanding Voice Problems: A Physiological Perspective for Diagnosis and Treatment. Baltimore, Md: Williams & Wilkins; 1990: 165-210, 309-316.
Hirano M. Clinical Examination of Voice. New York, NY: Springer Verlag; 1981.
Karnell MP. Videoendoscopy: From Velopharynx to Larynx. San Diego, Calif: Singular Publishing Group Inc; 1994.
Titze IR. Principles of Voice Production. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1994.
Titze IR. Workshops on acoustic analysis: summary statement. Iowa City, Ia: The National Center for Voice and Speech; 1995.
Weinberg B. Diagnosis of phonatory based voice disorders. In: Meitus IJ, Weinberg B, eds. Diagnosis in Speech-Language Pathology. Baltimore, Md: University Park Press; 1983:151-182.