Assessment of Chinese-version Voice Outcome Survey in Patients with Unilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis

Background: To develop a Mandarin Chinese outcome measure for the assessment of quality of life among unilateral vocal cord paralysis (UVCP) patients.

Methods: Voice Outcome Survey (VOS) was translated into Mandarin Chinese using a parallel model. The Chinese (Taiwan) version of the VOS (CVOS) was administered to 48 patients with symptomatic UVCP in a prospective manner; the CVOS was validated according to established criteria for reliability, validity, and longitudinal sensitivity.

Results: CVOS demonstrates moderate test-retest reliability (r = 0.59, P < 0.001) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.63). CVOS significantly correlates with most of the subscales in the Mandarin Chinese (Taiwan) version of 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) with only two exceptions (GH, general health; VT, vitality). The standardized response mean for the CVOS total score is 1.91, indicating excellent sensitivity to detect clinical changes.

Conclusions: Performance characteristics of the CVOS are equivalent to the English-version VOS. CVOS is a valid tool to evaluate adults with UVCP-related problems among Chinese-speaking populations.