Voice and quality of life in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in a northern Sweden cohort.

Conclusion: The frequency of operations, age at onset, gender and subtype of the human papilloma virus (HPV) may be used as factors to predict voice disability.

Objectives: Patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) are characterized by morbid consequences due to a lifelong repetitive influence on voice and breathing ability and the need for recurrent surgical treatments. The aim of the study was to measure the quality of voice and life using evaluated and validated questionnaires in a northern Sweden RRP population.

Methods: A total of 27 consecutive patients with RRP (age 21-71 years, median 47 years) were evaluated 3 months postoperatively (CO2 laser treatment) using the voice handicap index (VHI) and SF-36 questionnaires to assess the impact on life and voice in an RRP population. The values were compared to historical normative data, VHI ≤ 20.

Results: Patients that underwent more than one operation per year were younger (p = 0.028) than those treated less frequently. The mean VHItotal score in patients with RRP was 39.3, indicating a statistically significant impairment of voice quality (p < 0.001) as compared with normal subjects. Voice dysfunction was observed in 21 patients (78%). Significantly lower values than the normal population regarding the quality of life in patients with RRP were obtained in the domain of social functioning (p = 0.029). Females, patients with frequent surgical treatment sessions and patients with the high-risk HPV types scored significantly lower in several domains of the quality of life assessment as compared with normal subjects. The results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited number of subjects.