Summary of the Systematic Review

Article Citation

The Validity of the Acoustic Breathiness Index in the Evaluation of Breathy Voice Quality: A Meta-Analysis

Barsties, V. Latoszek, B., Kim, G. H., et al. (2020).
Clinical Otolaryngology, Epub retrieved August 17, 2020 from https://doi.org/10.1111/coa.13629.
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Indicators of Review Quality

Yes The review states a clearly focused question/aim.
Yes Criteria for inclusion of studies are provided.
Yes Search strategy described in sufficient detail for replication.
Yes Included studies are assessed for study quality.
Yes Quality assessments are reproducible.
Yes Characteristics of the included studies are provided.

Article Details

Description

This is a systematic review of published and grey literature investigating the use of the Acoustic Breathiness Index in individuals to assess breathy voice quality.

Questions/Aims Addressed

The following aims were provided:

use cross-validation studies to estimate the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the Acoustic Breathiness Index; and
to calculate an overall weighted threshold of Acoustic Breathiness Index using all included studies.

Population

Individuals with and without voice disorders

Intervention/Assessment

Acoustic Breathiness Index

Number of Studies Included

Years Included

2017 to February 2020

Conclusions from This Systematic Review

What are Conclusions?

Voice

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Assessment

The Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) was indicated to have sufficient to high diagnostic accuracy with high to very high sensitivity (0.84) and specificity (0.92) levels. The high specificity, with low heterogeneity, demonstrated that almost all participants with absence of breathiness were correctly classified as such. Therefore, ABI was revealed to be a robust and valid instrument to objectively measure breathiness.

Keywords: Acoustic Assessment