Abstract
Background: Earlier we demonstrated the reproducibility of paragraph reading time (PRT) as an assessment method in 192 normal voice cases, and also demonstrated that it showed results similar to those of maximum phonation time (MPT) in 52 recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis (RNP) cases and 15 RNP cases who underwent autologous transplantation of fascia into the vocal fold. The purpose of this study was to verify which components of PRT cause prolongation of PRT.
Materials and Methods: RNP was evaluated in 4 cases who were cured naturally without any surgical treatments. Their PRTs could be subdivided into two groups: sound section and silent section. Furthermore, frequency of pauses with breath was counted in the silent sections.
Results: Timings of the silent section showed prolongation similar to those of PRT in RNP. However, the timings of the sound section remained the same although those of PRT showed prolongation. In silent sections, increased frequency of pauses with breath was seen as prolonged timing of the silent section.
Conclusion: Prolongation of the timing of a silent section in RNP causes an extension mainly of PRT.
