Lingual Tonsil Hypertrophy Grading and Its Relation to Sociodemographic Factors and Clinical Symptoms

A rigid 70 degree laryngoscope is inserted into the subject's oropharynx, which allows to visualize the lingual tonsils. The size of the lingual tonsils is evaluated using DelGaudio and Friedman grading systems.

A validated clinical tool for suspecting laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). The questionnaire was proposed by Belafsky et al. (2002) and consists of 9 most common gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and LPR symptoms: hoarseness or a problem with your voice; clearing your throat; excess throat mucus or postnasal drip; difficulty swallowing food, liquids, or pills; coughing after you ate or after lying down; breathing difficulties or choking episodes; troublesome or annoying cough; sensation of something sticking in your throat or a lump in your throat; heartburn, chest pain, indigestion, or stomach acid coming up. Each symptom is evaluated on a scale from 0 to 5 (0 - no complaint, 5 - severe symptom). The sum of all symptom evaluations ranges from 0 to 45.

"A validated questionnaire, proposed by Ohkuma et al. (2002). Lithuanian version of the questionnaire consists of 16 questions: choking during swallowing meals / liquids; difficulty eating solid foods; difficult swallowing; feeling of food getting stuck in the throat; longer than before eating time; feeling of food remaining in the mouth; feeling that food or liquid is going up into the throat from the stomach; feeling of food being stuck in the esophagus; weight loss; food getting stuck in the throat; food falling from the mouth; difficulty coughing during or after meals; occurrence of pneumonia; hoarseness; coughing during the night. Interpretation of dysphagia screening questionnaire:~Advanced symptom - 2 points; Moderate intensity symptom - 1 point; No symptom - 0 point. At least one advanced symptom means - dysphagia. Higher score represents stronger dysphagia intensity. The maximum score is 32 points."