Data collection tool
Assessment of symptoms related to LPRD was done using the reflux symptom index (RSI).1 Each item ranges from 0 (Absent problem) to 5 (significant problem), with a maximum score of 45 (Table 1). A diagnosis of reflux was made if the patient had a RSI score >13. Patients were followed up in one-month intervals up to three months and 70-degree rigid laryngoscopy was repeated every month to notice any improvement in the RFS of the studied patients.
Meanwhile, diet and lifestyle modifications were insisted to patients such as regular exercise, avoiding spicy and oily foods, timely intake of meals, cease cigarette smoking, tobacco or alcohol consumption. Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) twice a day before meals were administered to patients.
Patients who were found to have a RSI score >13 were subjected to 70-degree rigid laryngoscopy and their laryngeal findings were noted and scored according to the Reflux Finding Score (RFS).[8] (Table 2).
The scoring tool used to scale the features of LPRD evaluates eight items such as: subglottic edema, ventricular obliteration, erythema or hyperemia, vocal fold edema, generalized laryngeal edema, posterior commissure hypertrophy, granuloma or granulation tissue, and excess laryngeal mucus. Individual items were scored according to severity, anatomical site, and presence or absence of the relevant finding, for a total score of 26 (Table 2). Patients who had a score of 7 or higher were considered to have LPRD.