Voice related quality of life in healthy children: do normal kids have voice problems?

Joel H. Blumin

Objectives: The Pediatric Voice Related Quality of Life (PVRQOL) is an outcomes instrument validated on an affected pediatric population. We hypothesized that there is a difference in PVRQOL scores between patients seen in a voice clinic and a cohort of otherwise healthy ambulatory children surveyed outside of the medical setting.

Methods: The PVRQOL was prospectively used to measure voice quality in a cohort of normal children surveyed at the Wisconsin State Fair. These results were compared to self-reported voice quality in patients seen at a pediatric subspecialty voice clinic with common laryngeal disease.

Results: One hundred prospective surveys of normal children were reviewed. There was minimal self-reported dysfunction in this normal cohort. When compared to patients with vocal fold paralysis, vocal nodules, and paradoxical vocal fold motion, there was a significant difference (p< 0.01) in self-reported scores. Further subgroup analysis of the normal patients showed pre-pubescent boys to have slightly lower PVRQOL then girls.

Conclusions: The PVRQOL in healthy children showed no significant evidence of dysfunction. Subgroup analysis revealed a small but statistically significant difference between male and female gender in the pre-pubescent age group. Our findings further validate the PVRQOL instrument as a tool to assay pediatric voice.

Joel H. Blumin, MD
Albert L. Merati, MD
Medical College of Wisconsin Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
Division of Laryngology & Professional Voice
Department of Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences
Milwaukee, WI 9200 West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee Wisconsin 53226 USA
phone +1 (414) 805-5689 facsimile +1 (414) 805-7890 email: jblumin@mcw.edu