Automated speech analysis also associated with minimal HE and can predict future overt HE<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, Oct. 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Automated speech analysis correlates with validated hepatic encephalopathy (HE) tests and may predict future overt HE, according to a study published online Sept. 12 in Hepatology<\/em>.<\/p>\n In a two-center prospective cohort study, Patricia P. Bloom, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined whether analysis of speech patterns using a modern speech platform correlates with validated HE tests, correlates with minimal HE, and can predict future overt HE. Data were included for 200 outpatients with cirrhosis and 50 control patients; patients underwent baseline speech recording and validated HE diagnostic testing with a psychometric HE score (PHES). Patients were followed for six months.<\/p>\n An automated speech analysis platform was used to extract 752 speech variables. The researchers observed significant associations for more than 100 speech variables with PHES. For predicting minimal HE, a three-variable model (two acoustic and one speech tempo variable) was similar to the animal naming test (area under the curve [AUC], 0.76 versus 0.69). The accuracy of the speech model was improved by adding age and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Sodium score (AUC, 0.82). Time to overt HE was predicted by a combined clinical speech model, with a concordance of 0.74.<\/p>\n “Future research will be necessary to validate this model in larger studies in different clinical settings and to determine whether changes in speech during follow-up can detect early overt HE allowing for timely interventions to prevent hospital admissions,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n