Objective and Subjective Voice Outcomes After Total Laryngectomy: A Systematic Review
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
van Sluis, K. E., van der Molen, L., et al. (2018).
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 275(1), 11-26.
This systematic review compares the acoustic, perceptual and patient-reported outcomes of esophageal speech, tracheoesophageal speech, and electrolarynx speech in individuals with total laryngectomy.
Atos Medical (Sweden)
Up to December 2016
Published studies (not further specified)
26
The following outcomes were reported for various voice techniques in individuals with total laryngectomy, grouped by outcome measure:
<ul>
<li><strong>Acoustic measures:</strong> Tracheoesophageal speech was "rated as superior" (p. 22) to esophageal speech in maximum phonation time, fundamental frequency, and intensity. No acoustic data was found for electrolarynx speech. </li>
<li><strong>Perceptual measures: </strong>Tracheoesophageal speech was superior to esophageal speech and electrolarynx speech for intelligibility and voice quality. Electrolarynx speech "was found to be least pleasant and comprehensible" (p. 24). </li>
<li><strong>Patient-reported outcomes: </strong>"None of the speech rehabilitation methods showed evidently better outcomes" (p. 22), and "all speaker groups report a degree of voice handicap" (p. 24).</li>
</ul>
<span style="color: #333333;">Most studies found had unclear risk of bias, so firm conclusions could not be drawn.</span>
