Prevalence of Reflux in 113 Consecutive Patients with Laryngeal and Voice Disorders

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Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The goal was to estimate the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) in patients with laryngeal and voice disorders.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a prospective study of 113 unselected, new patients with laryngeal and voice disorders. Patients completed an extensive medical history form including a reflux symptom profile. A comprehensive otolaryngologic examination was performed with photographic transnasal fiberoptic laryngoscopy. Patients with both symptoms and findings of LPR (78/133, 69%) underwent ambulatory 24‐hour double‐probe pH monitoring.RESULTS: Seventy‐three percent (57/78) of patients undergoing pH testing had abnormal studies. Thus 50% (57/113) of the entire the study population had pH‐documented reflux. Of the diagnostic sub‐groups studied, the highest incidence of reflux was found in patients with vocal cord neoplastic lesions (88%) and patients with muscle tension dysphonias (70%). LPR was infrequently found in patients with neuromuscular disorders.CONCLUSION: LPR occurs in at least 50% of all patients at our center with laryngeal and voice disorders at presentation.

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