Estimated Subglottic Pressure in Normal and Dysphonic Subjects

Abstract

The objective of this report was to study the clinical interest of estimated subglottic pressure (ESGP) with measurements of intraoral pressure according to the “airway interrupted method.” Twenty healthy female subjects and 27 dysphonic female patients were included and asked to produce sounds under different conditions of pitch and intensity. The ESGP increased with intensity and slightly with pitch in both patients and controls. a comparison between patients and controls showed significantly higher values of ESGP in patients under all conditions of intensity and pitch. For normal intensity and usual pitch, ESGP has been found to be 6.1 hectopascals (hPa) in control subjects and 8.25 hPa in patients (p = .002). Discriminant analysis of all the measured data showed that data recorded for low intensity (lowest possible intensity without whispering) and high pitch (9 semitones above the usual pitch) were the most discriminant. The authors concluded that ESGP allows good discrimination between dysphonic patients and control subjects and might be included in the basic clinical set of objective parameters.