Validation of the Czech Version of the Voice Handicap Index.

OBJECTIVE(S): The present study aims to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of the Czech version of the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-CZ) and determine the cut-off value to distinguish dysphonic patients from nondysphonic individuals. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study, Parallel group design. METHODS: The study investigated 100 adult patients with dysphonia, divided into three groups based on the etiology of the voice problem (neurogenic, functional, and structural). Out of these, 25 patients were used for test-retest analysis, and 45 patients to determine the responsiveness to change. The control group consisted of 51 healthy subjects. All 151 individuals completed the VHI-CZ and were examined with the videolaryngostroboscopy. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), the test-retest reliability (Intra-class Correlation Coefficient, ICC), and the construct validity were analyzed and the normative cut-off value was determined. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the VHI-CZ was excellent (Cronbach α = 0.984), and test-retest reliability was also excellent (ICC = 0.95, P < 0.001). The correlation between the self-assessed severity of the voice disorder and the VHI-CZ score was strong (Spearman's ρ = 0.877, P < 0.001). The VHI scores differences between dysphonic and nondysphonic patients were statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.001). The differences among the three etiological subgroups (neurogenic, functional, and structural) were also statistically significant (Kruskal-Wallis test, P < 0.001). Moreover, the differences in the VHI-CZ total scores between pretreatment and posttreatment were statistically significant (Wilcoxon test, P < 0.001). The cut-off score of 13 points was found, by the analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC, Youden Index), to be most suitable for preselecting dysphonic individuals. CONCLUSION: The existing VHI-CZ showed excellent reliability and construct validity. The Czech VHI is a useful and valid monitoring tool for clinicians.

Personality and Word Use: Study on Czech Language and the Big Five.

The study is a follow-up to three published anglophone researches examining the relation between the use of linguistic categories and personality characteristics as outlined in the Big Five model, with the purpose of replicating these and elaborating for the Czech language. The comparative research study in Czech focuses on analysis of both grammatical and semantic variables in six types of text (written and oral), produced by N = 200 participants. Within the study, there were six confirmed relations, however, these appear only in certain types of text. The results show not only an essential role of the text register, but they also allow us to evaluate the universality of findings of studies in English in comparison with other, especially Slavic, languages.

Changes of taste perception after stapes surgery: a prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Taste perception is often affected after stapes surgery despite effort to preserve chorda tympani nerve. The aim was to examine changes of particular taste qualities and their recovery after operation of otosclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Taste function was prospectively investigated with a questionnaire and a taste strip test (TST) preoperatively, 3-5 days and 1 year after stapes surgery with the preservation of CTN. RESULTS: In the early postoperative examination, 34/42 patients had a lower TST score, 7/42 decrease of taste in the questionnaire. One year after surgery, 11/42 patients had a lower TST score, 1/42 patients decrease of taste in the questionnaire. The most pronounced decrease in the TST score was in sweet (- 1.76 points, p < 0.001), followed by bitter (- 1.71 points, p < 0.001), salty (- 1.64 points, p < 0.001) and sour taste (- 1.33 points, p < 0.001). The sour taste had a significant lower alteration compared to others. Men had significantly pronounced alteration in salty taste compared to women. The complete recovery was proved in bitter taste. Better recovery in bitter taste was observed in patients younger than 45 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Gustatory changes after stapes surgery are mostly transient with different impairment and recovery rate for particular taste qualities. A sour taste seems to be relatively resistant to damage. The best recovery rate is in a bitter taste, especially in younger patients.

Development and Validation of the Ethicotherapy Quality of Life Questionnaire.

At present, no standardized tool to measure therapeutic outcomes of a central European traditional healing system called Ethicotherapy exists. Ethicotherapy focuses on the relationship between physical health and moral health. The aim was to develop and validate the Ethicotherapy quality of life questionnaire (EQLQ) using a sequential exploratory mixed-method study design. An EQLQ with good psychometric properties was developed. An exploratory factor analysis identified eight domains consisting of 30 items. Future research investigating a relationship between EQLQ, health, and physical illness in different populations and cultural settings is recommended.

Text-Based Detection of the Risk of Depression.

This study examines the relationship between language use and psychological characteristics of the communicator. The aim of the study was to find models predicting the depressivity of the writer based on the computational linguistic markers of his/her written text. Respondents' linguistic fingerprints were traced in four texts of different genres. Depressivity was measured using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The research sample (N = 172, 83 men, 89 women) was created by quota sampling an adult Czech population. Morphological variables of the texts showing differences (M-W test) between the non-depressive and depressive groups were incorporated into predictive models. Results: Across all participants, the data best fit predictive models of depressivity using morphological characteristics from the informal text "letter from holidays" (Nagelkerke r 2 = 0.526 for men and 0.670 for women). For men, models for the formal texts "cover letter" and "complaint" showed moderate fit with the data (r 2 = 0.479 and 0.435). The constructed models show weak to substantial recall (0.235 - 0.800) and moderate to substantial precision (0.571 - 0.889). Morphological variables appearing in the final models vary. There are no key morphological characteristics suitable for all models or for all genres. The resulting models' properties demonstrate that they should be suitable for screening individuals at risk of depression and the most suitable genre is informal text ("letter from holidays").

CVID-Associated Tumors: Czech Nationwide Study Focused on Epidemiology, Immunology, and Genetic Background in a Cohort of Patients With CVID.

Background: Common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) is one of the most frequent inborn errors of immunity, increased occurrence of malignancies, particularly lymphomas, and gastric cancers, has long been noted among CVID patients. Multifactorial etiology, including immune dysregulation, infections, chronic inflammation, or genetic background, is suggested to contribute to tumor development. Here, we present the results of the first Czech nationwide study focused on epidemiology, immunology and genetic background in a cohort of CVID patients who also developed tumors Methods: The cohort consisted of 295 CVID patients followed for 3,070 patient/years. Standardized incidence ratio (SIR) was calculated to determine the risk of cancer, and Risk ratio (RR) was established to evaluate the significance of comorbidities. Moreover, immunophenotyping, including immunoglobulin levels and lymphocyte populations, was assessed. Finally, Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed in all patients with lymphoma to investigate the genetic background. Results: Twenty-five malignancies were diagnosed in 22 patients in a cohort of 295 CVID patients. SIR was more than 6 times greater in comparison to the general population. The most common neoplasias were gastric cancers and lymphomas. History of Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) was established as a potential risk factor, with over 3 times higher risk of cancer development. The B cell count at diagnosis of lymphoma was reduced in the lymphoma group; moreover, post-treatment B and T cell lymphopenia, associated with poorer outcome, was found in a majority of the patients. Intriguingly, no NK cell depression was observed after the chemotherapy. WES revealed heterogeneous genetic background among CVID patients with tumors, identifying gene variants associated with primary immunodeficiencies (such as CTLA4, PIK3CD, PMS2) and/or increased cancer susceptibility (including BRCA1, RABEP1, EP300, KDM5A). Conclusions: The incidence of malignancy in our CVID cohort was found to be more than 6 times greater compared to the general population. Gastric cancers and lymphomas were the most frequently diagnosed tumors. ITP was identified as a risk factor for malignancy in CVID patients. WES analysis confirmed a wide genetic heterogeneity among CVID patients. The identified causative or modifying gene variants pointed to errors in mechanisms contributing to both immunodeficiency and malignancy.