Abstract

Most frequent neuro-otolaryngological findings associated with COVID-19 infection are chemoreceptor and sensory changes, but atypical motor paralysis can also be seen in some cases. Vocal cord paralysis can affect phonation, respiration and phases of swallowing. The left vocal cord is affected more commonly than the right because of its longer course. We present a case of 62 year male; admitted in Mayo Institute of Medical Sciences, Barabanki as a Covid positive patient, underwent treatment for the condition for about 19-20 days after which he was discharged as his Covid result came out to be negative; after 1 month of recovery patient started complaining of hoarseness of voice which was insidious in onset gradually progressive and resulted in voice fatigue for which laryngeal endoscopy was performed. On endoscopy we found Left sided false cord hypertrophy (Dysphonia Plica Ventricularis) and bowing and slight hyper abduction of left true cord was seen suggesting of Left cord paresis; on phonation the left cord did not meet the right cord in midline leaving a small phonatory gap. The right cord was normal in shape and movements; because the patient had no prior history of hemodynamic insufficiency and evidence of neurological disease. Laryngeal nerve palsies may be part of the neurologic complication of COVID-19. Thus in patients presenting with voice changes during or immediate post COVID 19 infection must suspect the possibility of neuronal damage caused by SARS-CoV-2.g.

Keywords: Vocal Cord Palsy; Covid -19; Unilateral Palsy; Voice; Recurrent Nerve

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Citation

Citation: Rashmi Nambiar., et al. “Unilateral Vocal Cord Palsy in a Post Covid-19 Infected Patient".Acta Scientific Otolaryngology 3.11 (2020): 06-08.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Rashmi Nambiar., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.