Delayed Bilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis Following Cervical Spine Trauma.

Autor: Ehret J; Internal Medicine, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, USA., Thomas A; Internal Medicine, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, USA., Penn DL; Neurosurgery, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, USA., Kaplan S; Pulmonary and Critical Care, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Cureus [Cureus] 2023 Jun 02; Vol. 15 (6), pp. e39891. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jun 02 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.39891
Abstrakt: Bilateral vocal cord paralysis is a potentially life-threatening condition, depending on the position in which the vocal cords are paralyzed. When the vocal cords are fixed in adduction, patients develop respiratory distress, inspiratory stridor, aspiration, and minimal phonation deficits. This condition can result from acute injuries to the right and left recurrent laryngeal nerves, or from chronic bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy. The clinical presentation is variable with such nerve injuries. Traumatic injuries to the cervical spine are an uncommon cause of this condition. In this report, we describe a patient who developed progressive respiratory distress, inspiratory stridor, and dysphagia to liquids several weeks after suffering major trauma to the head and neck. Laryngoscopy revealed immobile bilateral vocal cords fixed in the paramedian position, resulting in severe airway obstruction that warranted an emergency tracheostomy.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright © 2023, Ehret et al.)
Databáze: MEDLINE