Multicenter prospective study on the use and outcome of rehabilitation after total laryngectomy in Germany

Head Neck. 2019 Apr;41(4):1070-1079. doi: 10.1002/hed.25540. Epub 2018 Dec 12.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the use and outcome of rehabilitation after total laryngectomy in Germany.

Methods: We enrolled patients who were scheduled for total laryngectomy, approached them again after surgery, after 3 months and 1 year. Patients completed questionnaires and were interviewed.

Results: Of 309 participants, 14% had not received any rehabilitation. Reasons for nonuse were primarily ongoing treatment and poor health. Users of rehabilitation had 4 times the odds of attaining any ability to speak compared to nonusers (odds ratio 3.8, P = .02). The main aim of rehabilitation from the perspective of the users was speech rehabilitation, mentioned by 71% before starting rehabilitation. This was also what most users (27%) found the most helpful part of rehabilitation.

Conclusions: Patients are interested in attending rehabilitation. They especially want to improve their speech capacity, which indeed is better among users of rehabilitation than in those without.

Keywords: health care research; patient-reported outcomes; prospective study; quality of life; rehabilitation.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Germany
  • Humans
  • Laryngeal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Laryngeal Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Laryngectomy / methods*
  • Laryngectomy / rehabilitation*
  • Larynx, Artificial
  • Male
  • Patient Satisfaction / statistics & numerical data
  • Postoperative Care / methods
  • Prognosis
  • Prospective Studies
  • Quality of Life
  • Reference Values
  • Speech Intelligibility*
  • Speech Therapy / methods
  • Speech Therapy / statistics & numerical data*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Voice Quality