Clinical application of the validated Hindi VHI in assessing subjective improvement following microlaryngeal surgeries for benign vocal fold lesions: A preliminary report

Abstract

Objective: To assess the clinical utility of a validated Hindi VHI in the assessment of patients treated microsurgically for benign vocal fold lesions. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Tertiary health care centre. Materials and Methods: The study population comprised 46 patients of either sex with benign vocal fold lesions, who underwent microlaryngeal surgery in our hospital between January, 2011 and May, 2012. An acoustic analysis of all the patients was done using Dr. Speech voice analysis software (Tiger electronics, USA) preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively. The parameters analyzed were in terms of perturbation (Jitter and shimmer), normalized noise energy (NNE), and fundamental frequency (F0). A validated Hindi version of VHI was filled by all the patients preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively. The results obtained were statistically correlated using SPSS 17 software. Results: There was a significant correlation between the parameters analyzed on Dr. Speech voice analysis software and VHI parameters obtained preoperatively and postoperatively as assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. There was a statistically significant improvement in objective voice parameters and VHI scores postoperatively as assessed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Conclusion: The validated Hindi version of VHI correlates well with the widely used acoustic analysis software (Dr. Speech, Tiger electronics, USA). It also correlates well with voice improvement after surgeries for benign vocal fold lesions. It merits inclusion in the standard evaluation protocol both in the preoperative assessment and postoperative evaluation following surgical treatment for benign vocal fold lesions in Hindi speaking population.