Speech assessment of patients using three types of indwelling tracheo-oesophageal voice prostheses

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A multidisciplinary prospective study compared speech acceptability between three types of indwelling tracheo-oesophageal voice prostheses. Twenty male laryngectomees took part over five years, using 42 prostheses. Speech was assessed on a discrete scale by trained and untrained personnel. The majority scored in the mid-range for each assessor. The kappa coefficient was used to test similarity between assessors, and for all pairings agreement was significant (pp<0.05). The untrained assessed similarly to the professionals – humans are all voice listeners. The analysis suggests surgeons find tracheo-oesophageal speech in older patients better than in younger ones; or make more allowances for the elderly. There was a trend for Provox prostheses to produce the best scores.