Longitudinal Effects of Botox Injections on Voice-Related Quality of Life (V-RQOL) for Patients with Adductory Spasmodic Dysphonia: Part II

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the longitudinal effects of botulinum toxin type A (Botox) injections on voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) for patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Academic tertiary care referral center. Participants: Forty-two patients who presented to our institution with dysphonia and were diagnosed as having adductory spasmodic dysphonia during a 38-month period. Intervention: Patients received Botox injections into both thyroarytenoid muscles via the cricothyroid membrane. The typical starting dose was 1.0 U per vocal fold. If necessary, the dosage was adjusted in subsequent injections to reduce adverse effects or to enhance duration of benefit. Main Outcome Measures: Patients filled out questionnaires, including the V-RQOL Measure and a self-assessed overall voice rating, before each injection. Postinjection questionnaires were completed 6 to 8 weeks after each treatment. Mean pretreatment and posttreatment scores were calculated for each treatment. Results: The number of treatments per patient ranged from 1 to 7. Statistically significant improvements in mean total and domain V-RQOL scores were calculated for every injection (P