ObjectivesTo compare the screening value of the Reflux Symptom Score (RSS) and the Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) for laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).MethodsAll included patients attending the Department of Otolaryngology at the Sixth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital from February 2022 to August 2022, completed the RSS and the RSI and underwent 24‐hour hypopharyngeal‐esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance‐pH (24 h HEMII‐pH) monitoring. The results of 24 h HEMII‐pH were used as a diagnostic criterion for LPR, consistency between two questionnaires (RSS, RSI) and 24 h HEMII‐pH was compared by the weighted Cohen's kappa statistic and the screening value of RSS and RSI for LPR was compared by receiver operating characteristics analysis.ResultsA total of 77 patients, 58 males, and 19 females, were included. The Kappa values of between RSS, RSI, and 24 h HEMII‐pH were 0.663 (p < 0.001) and 0.213 (p < 0.05), respectively. The sensitivity of RSS and RSI were 92.8% and 48.2%, respectively, the specificity was 71.4% and 80.9%. The negative predictive value and positive predictive value of RSI were 36.9%, 87.1%, and that of RSS were 78.9%, 89.6%. The area under curve of the RSS (0.783; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.75) is significantly higher than RSI (0.633; 95% CI = 0.72, 0.90).ConclusionThe RSS has a higher consistency and better screening value for LPR compared to RSI. In addition, the RSS includes more reflux symptoms, which may reduce the number of missed diagnoses in patients with LPR to some extent.Level of Evidence3 Laryngoscope, 133:2104–2109, 2023

Objective: This study aimed to develop an objective and simple score for predicting the prognosis of patients with laryngeal contact granuloma (LCG) treated with local glucocorticoid injection combined with oral proton pump inhibitor (GI + PPI).Methods: Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the effect of baseline variables on the prognosis of 507 patients with LCG treated with GI + PPI. An easy-to-apply RCGSG (Reflus, Cough, Gender, and Surgery in GI + PPI therapy) score was developed based on the independent risk factors selected by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The score was internally validated by receiver-operating characteristic curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis.Results: After univariate and multivariate analyses, male gender (hazard ratio[HR] 0.546, p < .001), laryngopharyngeal reflux (HR 0.702, p = .001), chronic cough (HR 0.709, p = .001), and history of surgical resection (HR 0.433, p < .001) were found to be the independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of LCG. According to the score, the median cure time was 3 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.81-3.19) in the low-risk group, 4 months (95% CI 3.74-4.26) in the moderate-risk group, and 5 months (95% CI 4.76-5.24) in the high-risk group. The bootstrap method was used to plot calibration curves for internal validation. Conclusion:The RCGSG score, developed based on laryngopharyngeal reflux, chronic cough, gender, and surgical resection history, has been internally verified to be a good predictor of the prognosis of patients with LCG receiving GI + PPI treatment.