2018 Section 6 - Laryngology, Voice Disorders, and Bronchoesophalogy

Çolak Y, Nordestgaard BG, Laursen LC, et al. Risk factors for chronic cough among 14,669 individuals from the general population. Chest . 2017; 152(3):563-573. EBM level 2c..........................................................................................................................84-94 Summary : This article presents a large Danish population study of 14,669 patients who completed a survey involving demographics, risk factors, and Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ). It examines individual and community-level risk factors with several interesting findings, including overall chronic cough prevalence of 4%, female gender only a risk factor for nonsmokers (prevalence of female chronic cough patients lower than other studies), and a median LCQ score of 17.3, which is higher than prior studies. This is the first study to determine prevalence and impact of chronic cough in the general population. Francis DO, Slaughter JC, Ates F, et al. Airway hypersensitivity, reflux, and phonation contribute to chronic cough. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol . 2016; 14(3):378-384. EBM level 2b.......................................................................................................................95-101 Summary : The article presents a blinded cross-sectional study of nonsmoking patients with chronic cough refractory to reflux treatment who underwent 24-hour acoustic recording concurrently with pH-impedance monitoring. Results showed that phonation and reflux events increase rate of coughing. Findings support airway sensitivity as cause of cough with vocal folds as effector. Vertigan AE, Bone SL, Gibson PG. Laryngeal sensory dysfunction in laryngeal hypersensitivity syndrome. Respirology . 2013; 18(6):948-956. EBM level 2.......................................................................................................................102-110 Summary : Laryngeal sensory function is impaired in patients with chronic cough, paradoxical vocal fold movement, globus pharyngeus, and muscle tension dysphonia. This study is the first to quantify sensory dysfunction and identify the extent of overlap between the conditions. It provides a hypothesis for development of further treatments for these conditions. It also provides a useful discussion of laryngeal hypersensitivity as a type of chronic pain syndrome, and discusses a nice work-up and evaluation of these patients. D. Voice outcomes after thyroid surgery Baek SK, Lee K, Oh D, et al. Efficiency of intraoperative neuromonitoring on voice outcomes after thyroid surgery. Auris Nasus Larynx . 2017; 44(5):583-589. EBM level 4.......................................................................................................................111-117 Summary : Baek et al found that among patients who underwent intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM), there were significantly smaller changes in the fundamental frequency at postoperative 1 month and in the maximum voice pitch of the voice range profile at postoperative 1 week, irrespective of the extent of thyroid surgery. They conclude that IONM during thyroid surgery resulted in better outcomes regarding fundamental frequency and high-pitch voice in the early postoperative period. IONM appears to be an effective method to reduce temporary phonation alteration after thyroid surgery.