Author:
Van Lerberghe R.,Hill E.,Strickaert K.,Alexander P.,Gysbrechts C.,Mattelin W.
Abstract
COVID-19 vocal cord paralysis and paresis in a patient with stridor
COVID-19 can affect several organs, giving various disease presentations. The authors describe a case of a 42-year-old patient who presented with stridor. A bronchoscopy and flexible endoscopy revealed vocal cord paralysis on the left and vocal cord paresis on the right. With additional imaging, no other aetiology for the vocal cord impairment could be found, upon which the diagnosis of COVID-19-related vocal cord paralysis and paresis was made. The patient was successfully treated with short-term CPAP and a short course of methylprednisolone in tapering schedule. Hereafter, clinically and visually by means of a flexible endoscopy, there was rapid improvement of the vocal cord dysfunction. With this case, the authors suspect that corticosteroids may have a beneficial effect on the recovery of vocal cord deterioration caused by COVID-19.
Reference35 articles.
1. 1. Guan W, Ni Z, Hu Y, et al. Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in China. N Engl J Med 2020; 382: 1708-1720.
2. 2. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Lancet 2020; 395: 497-506.
3. 3. Nepal G, Rehrig JH, Shrestha GS, et al. Neurological manifestations of COVID-19: a systematic review. Crit Care 2020; 24: 421.
4. 4. Seyed Toutounchi SJ, Eydi M, Golzari SE, Ghaffari MR, Parvizian N. Vocal cord paralysis and its etiologies: a prospective study. J Cardiovasc Thorac Res 2014; 6: 47-50.
5. 5. Brake MK, Anderson J. Bilateral vocal fold immobility: a 13 year review of etiologies, management and the utility of the Empey index. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2015; 44: 27.