Cut-off point for high dysphonia risk in children based on the Child Dysphonia Risk Screening Protocol: preliminary findings

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to establish a cut-off point for high dysphonia risk in children using the Child Dysphonia Risk Screening Protocol (DRSP-C). METHODS: Through a preliminary study, voice recordings of 59 children (4-12 years of age) were collected during an auditory-perceptual analysis using the Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice protocol. Thirty of the patients had voice disorders (patient group), and 29 did not (control group). A risk score for dysphonia was then calculated, and data were compared between groups. The relationship between overall degrees of deviation and questionnaire scores was analysed. The questionnaire’s validity was verified from the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, and cut-off points were obtained based on diagnostic criteria for screening procedures. RESULTS: The DRSP-C score was found to be higher for the patient group, as was the partial score for vocal behaviour. No correlation was found between overall degrees of dysphonia and questionnaire scores. The area under the ROC curve was measured as 0.678, denoting limited diagnostic capacity. The cut-off point was set at 16.50. Thus, above this value, dysphonia risk is higher. CONCLUSION: A cut-off point for high dysphonia risk was calculated. The DRSP-C proved to be a promising tool for children’s clinical vocal and health promotion and should be used in conjunction with General Dysphonia Risk Screening.

Risco de disfonia e qualidade vocal em estudantes de artes cênicas

“…De forma complementar ao protocolo geral, foram criados instrumentos de rastreio de risco de disfonia específicos, para a população infantil (21) e profissionais da voz, como atores de teatro musical e professores (18,19) . Os protocolos específicos para os profissionais da voz têm se mostrado ferramentas úteis para análise qualitativa, uma vez que não diferenciaram profissionais com e sem alteração vocal, pois estão expostos aos mesmos riscos.…”

Risk of dysphonia and voice quality in performing arts students

“…Complementarily to the general protocol, specific screening instruments for the risk of dysphonia have also been developed, such as for children (21) and voice professionals, like musical drama actors and teachers (18,19) . Specific protocols for voice professionals have proved to be useful tools for qualitative analyses for not differentiating professionals with and without vocal alteration since both are exposed to the same risks.…”