Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) is characterized by paradoxical vocal cord movement during inspiration or expiration, and generally affects adolescents and predominantly women. Previous studies have shown a large inconsistency concerning terminology, definitions, etiology, assessment, differential diagnosis, co-morbidity and treatment. The purpose of this study was to map knowledge on and management of VCD in Sweden. The study was conducted as a written survey addressed to speech-language pathologists and physicians, and attained an answer percentage of 79 percent. The results showed that several professions were involved in the management of these patients, but no clear pattern of referral could be observed. The majority of the respondents considered intense physical exertion and psychological stress as triggering factors for VCD. Despite this, referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist seldom occurred. Asthma was the most frequent diagnosis regarding co-morbidity, and also the most frequent misdiagnosis. Respiratory exercises, relaxation and information about the diagnosis generally form the basis of VCD treatment. Physicians rated their knowledge on VCD greater compared to the speech-language pathologists. Several of the respondents stated that an increase in knowledge and awareness among nursing staff had contributed to an increase of patients with suspected or confirmed VCD. This study showed that there was no consensus regarding assessment, co-morbidity, misdiagnosis and treatment of VCD among speech-language pathologists and physicians in Sweden. / Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) karakteriseras av paradoxala stämbandsrörelser vid in- eller utandning och drabbar vanligtvis ungdomar och huvudsakligen kvinnor. I tidigare studier framkom ingen konsensus kring terminologi, definition, etiologi, utredning, differentialdiagnostik, komorbiditet eller behandling. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att kartlägga kännedom om och handhavande av VCD i Sverige. Studien genomfördes i form av en enkätundersökning bland logopeder och läkare och svarsfrekvensen var 79 %. Ur resultatet framkom att flera professioner hade träffat dessa patienter men ingen tydlig remitteringsgång observerades. Majoriteten av respondenterna ansåg att intensiv fysisk ansträngning och psykologisk stress var utlösande faktorer till VCD. Däremot förekom sällan remittering till psykolog eller psykiater. Astma var den mest frekventa diagnosen gällande komorbiditet och feldiagnostisering. Andningsövningar, avspänning/avslappning samt information kring diagnosen inkluderades i behandlingen i hög grad. Läkarna skattade sin kunskapsnivå om VCD högre än logopederna. Flera av respondenterna angav att ökad kunskap och medvetenhet bland vårdpersonal hade bidragit till en ökning av diagnostisering av patienter med misstänkt eller konstaterad VCD. Föreliggande studie visade att det inte fanns någon enighet gällande utredning, komorbiditet, feldiagnostisering och behandling av VCD bland logopeder och läkare i Sverige.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-61356 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Björkheden, Tove, Gudmundsson, Elin, Nordlund, Charlotta |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Logopedi, Linköpings universitet, Logopedi, Linköpings universitet, Logopedi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds