Dysphonia and Delayed Food Allergy: A Provocation/ Neutralization Study with Strobovideolaryngoscopy

Abstract

In most cases the cause of intermittent dysphonia remains undiagnosed. This descriptive study explores the relationship between this problem and delayed food allergy. Double-blind intradermal provocation/neutralization skin tests to food antigens were used to do 12 tests in 10 subjects with food allergies. Strobovideolaryngoscopy was used to document changes in the vocal folds and in the quality of the voice. Double-blind measurements of signs and symptoms, digital audio recordings of the voice for perceptual and acoustic analysis, and aerodynamic laryngeal airflow and resistance measurements were done. The cause of dysphonia appeared to be associated with an increase in thick mucus production and irregular and asymmetric glottic edge edema of the vocal folds. Elimination of the positive specific foods resulted in cessation of dysphonia in all the test subjects. Statistical analysis was not done because of the lack of parametric data for paired analysis, lack of sufficient data points for resampling statistics, and the small sample size.