Clinical trial NCT02530879: Comparison of Voice Therapy and Antireflex Therapy in LPR
Official title: Comparison of Voice Therapy and Antireflex Therapy in the Treatment of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux-related Hoarseness: A Prospective Randomized Control Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: WITHDRAWN
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
Lead sponsor: Temple University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2015-08-21
Enrollment: 0
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: FACTORIAL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This study will be a prospective, randomized, unblinded but controlled trial. Patients presenting to the Otolaryngology clinic who are diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux disorder related dysphonia and meet inclusion criteria will be eligible to enroll in the study. Subjects will be randomized to one of three treatment arms, voice therapy, anti-reflux therapy, or a combination of voice therapy and anti-reflux therapy. Reflux symptom index (RSI) scores, reflux finding scores (RFS), voice handicap index-10 (VHI-10) scores, and consensus auditory perceptual evaluation-voice (CAPE-V) scores will be compared prior to initiation of therapy as well as at 1, 2, and 3 months following initiation of treatment.

Detailed description: Hoarseness is one of the most common presenting complaints in otolaryngology. The differential diagnosis for hoarseness is board, but a large percentage has been attributed to laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). LPR refers to the symptomatic effects of regurgitated gastric contents into the pharynx and larynx.1-3 1,2 Although dual-probe 24 hour pH monitoring is the gold standard in the diagnosis of LPR, it is not always performed due to inconvenience and cost. Patients are commonly treated based on history and physical examination findings alone. The literature on the efficacy of anti-reflux therapy and LPR is controversial. Karkos et al performed a systematic review on the use of empiric treatment of proton pump inhibitors (PPI) in patients suspected of having LPR and found no statistically significant difference between patients treated with PPI and those treated with placebo in reference to symptom severity or frequency of presumed reflux events. 2 Commonly patients are started on empiric therapy with anti-reflux medications and lifestyle modifications. Laryngoscopy is performed on all patients presenting with dysphonia. While a variety of findings have been characterized as consistent with reflux a study performed by Hicks et al, found that 86% of normal volunteers had findings consistent with reflux on flexible laryngoscopy.5 This calls into question the sensitivity and specificity of laryngoscopy in the diagnosis of LPR. Park et al performed a study comparing the effectiveness of anti-reflux therapy alone versus a combination of voice therapy with PPI in the treatment of presumed LPR-related dysphonia, and found combination therapy to be superior to anti-reflux therapy alone. 3 Because there are no studies comparing voice therapy directly with anti-reflux therapy, one cannot determine whether the improvements are due to augmentation of anti-reflux therapy with voice therapy, or if voice therapy alone is superior in the treatment of LPR-related dysphonia. There are currently no studies comparing the effectiveness of voice therapy alone, anti-reflux therapy alone, and combination therapy. Patients who present with dysphonia may be over treated with anti-reflux medications. These medications are not without side effects. It is hypothesized that a subset of patients who are thought to have reflux related dysphonia are misusing their voice and can be successfully treated with voice therapy alone. This study will be a prospective, randomized, unblinded but controlled trial. Patients presenting to the Otolaryngology clinic who are diagnosed with LPR-related dysphonia who meet inclusion criteria will be eligible to enroll in the study and will be randomized to one of the three treatment arms. Reflux symptom index (RSI) scores, reflux finding scores (RFS), voice handicap index-10 (VHI-10) scores, and consensus auditory perceptual evaluation-voice (CAPE-V) scores will be compared prior to initiation of therapy as well as at 1, 2, and 3 months following initiation of treatment.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years of age and older
* Hoarseness
* Reflux symptom index score \>13
* Reflux finding score \>7
* English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

* Evidence of other laryngeal pathology
* Esophageal dysmotility
* Gastroesophageal reflux
* Currently on anti-reflux medications
* Presence of a neurologic condition
* Active smoking
* Currently pregnant
* Individuals unable to consent for themselves
* Recent upper respiratory infection lasting more than 1 month
* Prior treatment for laryngopharyngeal reflux.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Comparison of pre and post treatment voice outcomes in LPR-related dysphonia based on pre and post treatment CAPE-V Scores
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Comparison of treatment outcomes in laryngeal reflux findings based on RFS scores
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Comparison of treatment outcomes in laryngeal reflux symptoms based on RSI scores
timeFrame: 3 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: Temple Otolaryngology
state: Pennsylvania
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: Temple University Hospital
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: Temple Hospital faculty member
name: Nausheen Jamal, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Fusconi M, De Virgilio A, Conte M, Colicchio MG, Gallo A, Greco A, Ralli G, de Vincentiis M. The importance of the number of reflux episodes in the diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Feb;148(2):261-6. doi: 10.1177/0194599812466534. Epub 2012 Nov 2.
citation: Hicks DM, Ours TM, Abelson TI, Vaezi MF, Richter JE. The prevalence of hypopharynx findings associated with gastroesophageal reflux in normal volunteers. J Voice. 2002 Dec;16(4):564-79. doi: 10.1016/s0892-1997(02)00132-7.
citation: Koufman JA, Aviv JE, Casiano RR, Shaw GY. Laryngopharyngeal reflux: position statement of the committee on speech, voice, and swallowing disorders of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002 Jul;127(1):32-5. doi: 10.1067/mhn.2002.125760. No abstract available.
citation: Karkos PD, Wilson JA. Empiric treatment of laryngopharyngeal reflux with proton pump inhibitors: a systematic review. Laryngoscope. 2006 Jan;116(1):144-8. doi: 10.1097/01.mlg.0000191463.67692.36.
citation: Park JO, Shim MR, Hwang YS, Cho KJ, Joo YH, Cho JH, Nam IC, Kim MS, Sun DI. Combination of voice therapy and antireflux therapy rapidly recovers voice-related symptoms in laryngopharyngeal reflux patients. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012 Jan;146(1):92-7. doi: 10.1177/0194599811422014. Epub 2011 Sep 9.