Early Detection of Neurological Disorders in a Voice Clinic at a Tertiary Care Hospital
摘要
A change in speech and/or voice may be the primary symptom of an undiagnosed neurological disorder. This may lead patients to repeatedly visit an ENT doctor and not get clarity on the diagnosis as the vocal folds are anatomically normal. The objective of our study was to audit the specificity and sensitivity of the diagnosis of neurological disorders in patients visiting our Voice center and who had not previously seen or been diagnosed by a neurologist. We aimed to highlight the importance a well-equipped voice clinic in early diagnosis of neurological disorders. We included all patients who were suspected to have a neurological disorder as per the opinion of the laryngologist and were therefore referred to a neurologist. The total number of patients who were then diagnosed as a neurological disorder were noted based on the diagnosis. The denominator of our study were all new patients who presented to our voice clinic with a speech/voice change, who did not have any vocal fold lesions on stroboscopy and had apparently normal vocal fold mobility. Out of 97 patients who presented to us with voice change, and normal vocal folds, in a period of 1 year, 17 patients were suspected to have a neurological disorder and hence were referred to a neurologist. The neurologist confirmed the diagnosis of a neurological disorder in 14/17 of these patients. Our study revealed a specificity of 96.3% and a sensitivity of 100% of pick-up of neurological disorders at our voice clinic. Our study aims to emphasize the importance of a well-established voice clinic and strong interdepartmental coordination for prompt referral and early detection of neurological disorders in patients presenting with voice/ speech change.