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A 47-year-old man with a 40-pack-year history of smoking presents with worsening hoarseness that began approximately 6 weeks ago. He complains of globus sensation and difficulty swallowing solid foods. He denies odynophagia, otalgia, hemoptysis, and hematemesis. There is no associated cough, and he has not had any constitutional symptoms such as fevers, chills, or recent weight loss.
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Hoarseness in a middle-aged man with the above symptoms is very common, and the differential diagnosis is long (all the diseases below are possibilities in this case scenario). The patient's smoking history and duration of symptoms should raise concern for a possible laryngeal malignancy. However, there is a higher incidence of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) followed by benign vocal fold (cord) lesions.
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The evaluation of hoarseness typically involves first ruling out the most serious pathologies, such as laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, in adults or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in children, and then proceeding with a more focused and subtle evaluation to uncover any of the many benign pathologies that affect the larynx. Treatment of these benign pathologies must take into account the patient's lifestyle and voice needs. It also often incorporates education on vocal hygiene, which involves increasing hydration, decreasing mucus and vocal abuse, and reducing acid reflux if a factor.
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- Hoarseness, dysphonia, vocal strain, breathiness, raspiness.
- Vocal cords, true vocal cords, true vocal folds, glottis (Figure 36-1).
- False vocal folds, false vocal cords (mucosal folds in the supraglottis, just superior to the true vocal folds and separated from the true folds by the ventricle).
- Flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy, direct laryngoscopy, nasopharyngeal scope (NP scope), transnasal fiberoptic laryngoscopy.
- Stroboscopy, videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS), strobe exam.
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- The most common cause of hoarseness in adults and children overall is viral infection causing laryngitis (Figure 36-2).
- LPR disease may be present in up to 50% of patients presenting with voice and laryngeal disorders.1 It is less commonly the sole cause of hoarseness.
- Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for 95% of laryngeal cancer. Approximately 11,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Peak incidence is in the sixth and seventh decades of life with a strong male predominance.1
- Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) represents the most common benign neoplasm of the larynx among children and should be considered in children with chronic hoarseness. A known risk factor for juvenile onset is the triad of a firstborn child (75%), teenage mother, and vaginal delivery. The incidence is 4.3 per 100,000 children and 1.8 per 100,000 adults.2 There is a known association between cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the mother and juvenile onset RRP, but the precise mode of transmission is unclear. The risk of a child contracting ...