Change in diagnosis and treatment following specialty voice evaluation: A national database analysis

Objective We evaluated the association between specialty voice evaluation and changes in laryngeal diagnosis and treatment in patients with laryngeal/voice disorders. Study Design Retrospective analysis of a large, national administrative U.S. claims database. Methods Patients included were identifi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Laryngoscope 2015-07, Vol.125 (7), p.1660-1666
Main Authors: Cohen, Seth M., Kim, Jaewhan, Roy, Nelson, Wilk, Amber, Thomas, Steven, Courey, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Child
Child, Preschool
Databases, Factual
diagnosis
Disease Management
dysphonia
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Laryngeal disorders
Laryngoscopy
Male
Medical diagnosis
Middle Aged
Patients
Retrospective Studies
Speech disorders
Stroboscopy
treatment
United States
voice
Voice - physiology
voice disorders
Voice Disorders - diagnosis
Voice Disorders - physiopathology
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective We evaluated the association between specialty voice evaluation and changes in laryngeal diagnosis and treatment in patients with laryngeal/voice disorders. Study Design Retrospective analysis of a large, national administrative U.S. claims database. Methods Patients included were identified with a laryngeal disorder based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes, from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2008, and had been seen by an otolaryngologist as an outpatient and had a specialty voice evaluation designated by videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS) within 90 days of the last laryngoscopy. Patient diagnosis at the last laryngoscopy visit and the subsequent initial VLS visit were collected. Specific treatment modalities were tabulated for the 30‐day period after the last laryngoscopy and for 30 days after the VLS. Results A total of 168,444 unique patients saw an otolaryngologist for 273,616 outpatient visits. Of those, 6.1% had a VLS performed, of which 4,000 (23.8%) occurred within 90 days of the last laryngoscopy, with a median interval of 30 days (interquartile range 15–50 days). Half of the patient visits had a change in laryngeal diagnosis. Changes in use of antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, voice therapy, and surgical intervention were seen after specialty voice evaluation. Conclusions Specialty voice evaluation was associated with changes in laryngeal diagnosis and treatment. Further study is needed to assess the impact on health care costs and patient outcomes. Level of Evidence 2b. Laryngoscope, 125:1660–1666, 2015
ISSN:0023-852X
1531-4995
DOI:10.1002/lary.25192