Search

By summarizing and analyzing the diagnostic and treatment process of a case with atypical Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) characterized by mucosal ulcerations of the pharynx and larynx, and reviewing related literature, we would like to remind that in the presence of unexplained mucosal lesions, atypical SJS should not be ignored., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

A woman in her early 30s presented to her primary care physician's office with hoarseness, joint pain and facial swelling. The objective evaluation revealed elevated inflammatory markers and angiotensin-1-converting enzyme, a chest radiograph with bilateral hilar prominence and a maxillofacial CT scan with diffuse inflammation in the upper airway. Otolaryngology evaluation revealed exophytic lesions diffusely within the nasal cavity, base of tongue, supraglottis, glottis and trachea. A biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. She was treated with corticosteroids with improvement in upper and lower airway symptoms. She continued to experience other extrapulmonary manifestations of sarcoidosis requiring alternative immunosuppressant therapy. At 30 months from symptom onset, her disease was noted to be in remission., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) is a rare autoimmune disease that could cause laryngeal lesions; however, only a few studies have described the localization of the laryngeal lesions associated with this disease owing to its rarity. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the localization of laryngeal lesions in patients with PV., Methods: Fourteen patients with PV accompanied by laryngeal or pharyngeal lesions, who underwent flexible laryngeal endoscopy performed by laryngologists, were examined retrospectively., Results: The arytenoid area was the most frequently affected site in the larynx, followed by the epiglottis and aryepiglottic folds. Vocal folds and ventricular bands were the least affected., Conclusion: Lesions in the arytenoid area were observed more frequently in this study than in previous studies. This result suggests that a more careful inspection of arytenoid lesions in patients with PV is required under laryngeal fiber observation. Moreover, we proposed a novel classification system for laryngeal findings in patients with PV and a systematic observation method. This novel classification and method would be useful not only for determining the lesions but also for careful inspection in this field., Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 134:3719-3725, 2024., (© 2024 The Authors. The Laryngoscope published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare non-malignant disorder, characterized by painless multiple cervical lymphadenopathy, fever, and elevated inflammatory markers. Its diagnosis is difficult due to its rare incidence and various clinical presentations, especially in extranodal involvement. In this report, we demonstrate a patient with RDD who presented with a nasal septum and laryngeal tumor that caused dyspnea. We achieved a successful treatment outcome with combined surgical resection of the laryngeal mass and corticosteroid medication. The symptoms and tumors were resolved within 3 weeks after treatment. We reported our experiences with review of literatures., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objective: Accurate vocal cord leukoplakia classification is instructive for clinical diagnosis and surgical treatment. This article introduces a reliable very deep Siamese network for accurate vocal cord leukoplakia classification., Study Design: A study of a classification network based on a retrospective database., Setting: Academic university and hospital., Methods: The white light image datasets of vocal cord leukoplakia used in this article were classified into 6 classes: normal tissues, inflammatory keratosis, mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia, severe dysplasia, and squamous cell carcinoma. The classification performance was assessed by comparing it with 6 classical deep learning models, including AlexNet, VGG Net, Google Inception, ResNet, DenseNet, and Vision Transformer., Results: Experiments show the superior classification performance of our proposed network compared to state-of-the-art methods. The overall accuracy is 0.9756. The values of sensitivity and specificity are very high as well. The confusion matrix provides information for the 6-class classification task and demonstrates the superiority of our proposed network., Conclusion: Our very deep Siamese network can provide accurate classification results of vocal cord leukoplakia, which facilitates early detection, clinical diagnosis, and surgical treatment. The excellent performance obtained in white light images can reduce the cost for patients, especially those living in developing countries., (© 2023 American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.)

Objective: To analyse the comparative clinical outcomes and clinicopathological significance of vocal fold leukoplakia lesions treated by appearance classification and traditional methods., Method: A total of 1442 vocal fold leukoplakia patients were enrolled. Group A patients were treated according to appearance classification and Group B patients were treated according to traditional methods., Results: In Group A, 24.4, 14.9 and 60.6 per cent of patients had grade I, II and III dysplasia, respectively. Grade I dysplasia (63.4 per cent) was more than twice as frequent in Group B patients than in Group A patients, while grade II dysplasia (20.4 per cent) and grade III dysplasia (16.2 per cent) were significantly less frequent in Group B patients than in Group A patients ( p = 0.000). There was a significant correlation between vocal fold leukoplakia appearance and the degree of dysplasia ( p = 0.000). The recurrence and malignant transformation rates (17.6 and 31 per cent, respectively) in Group B were significantly greater than those in Group A (10.8 and 25.9 per cent, respectively) ( p = 0.000)., Conclusion: Vocal fold leukoplakia appearance classification is useful for guiding treatment decision-making and could help to improve therapeutic accuracy.

Purpose: To report the efficacy of blue laser in the treatment of vocal fold polyps and Reinke's edema in an office setting., Methods: The medical records and video-recordings of patients who underwent office-based blue laser therapy in a tertiary referral center for vocal fold polyps and/or Reinke's edema were reviewed. The primary outcome measures were the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) score and disease regression. Acoustic and aerodynamic parameters were also analyzed., Results: Thirty-five patients (21 with vocal fold polyps and 14 with Reinke's edema) were included and a total of 47 lesions were treated. Out of the 35 patients, 7 patients were lost for follow-up. The mean VHI-10 score dropped significantly after surgery by 17.41 ± 8.67 points (p < 0.001). The endoscopic examinations of 38 lesions were reviewed (17 vocal fold polyps and 21 Reinke's edema) before and up to 6 months after laser therapy. In the subgroup with vocal fold polyps (N = 17), there was complete disease regression in 13 and partial in 4. In the subgroup with Reinke's edema (N = 21), there was complete disease regression in 7 and partial disease regression in 14. For patients with vocal fold polyp, there was a significant decrease in shimmer and a significant increase in maximum phonation time postoperatively. For patients with Reinke's edema, there was a significant decrease in shimmer and noise-to-harmonic ratio following treatment., Conclusion: Office-based blue laser therapy is an effective treatment for vocal fold polyps and Reinke's edema leading to complete or partial disease regression. All patients had improvement in voice quality., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and voice outcomes after laryngeal microsurgery for vocal fold epidermoid cysts coexisting with sulcus vocalis. Methods: The clinical data of 115 vocal fold epidermoid cysts coexisting with sulcus vocalis patients in Shandong provincial ENT hospital, were retrospectively analyzed, including 49 males and 66 females, aged 17-70 years old, and the duration of hoarseness ranged from 6 months to 30 years. All patients underwent surgery through suspension laryngoscope and microscope under general anestgesia. Ninety-four patients were treated with microflap excision of sulcus vocalis, cyst wall, and contents.And 21 patients that occulted with mucosal bridges were applied mucosal bridges resection (2 cases) and mucosal bridges reconstruction (19 cases) respectively. Videolaryngoscopy, subjective voice evaluation (GRBAS), objective voice evaluation, and Voice Handicap Index(VHI) were performed before and after surgery. All patients underwent histopathologic examination and follow-up after the procedure. The preoperative acoustic parameters of patients with vocal fold epidermoid cysts coexisting with sulcus vocalis were compared with those of vocal fold mucus retention cysts and simple vocal fold epidermoid cysts by independent samples t -test. The patients were compared by paired t -test for preoperative and postoperative parameters. Results: Significant reduction or lack of mucosal waves were shown via videolaryngostroboscopy in all 115 cases.In addition, vascular changes including dilation, tortuousness, increased branches, and abrupt direction change were shown on the cystic area. Eighty-one patients were detected cysts and/or sulcus vocalis by preoperative laryngoscopy, and intraoperative microscopic findings in the remaining 34 patients. The intraoperative microscopic examination revealed a focal pouch-like deficit plunging into the vocal ligament or muscle. The deep surface of the mucosal bridges was sulcus vocalis, and that in 89 cysts was lined with caseous content. Histopathology demonstrated a cystic cavity structure lined with squamous epithelium and caseous keratin desquamation inside the cystic cavity. Four of 115 patients were lost at follow-up and excluded from the analysis of voice outcomes after surgery. There was no significant mucosal wave and the voice quality in all but 14 patients 1month after surgery. Except for the fundamental frequency and noise harmonic ratio, all other voice parameters[ G, R, B, A, VHI-10, jitter, shimmer, maximum phonatory time (MPT) ]showed a significant improvement 3 months after surgery( t =15.82, 20.82, 17.61, 7.30, 38.88, 7.84, 5.88, -6.26, respectively, P <0.05). Then mucosal waves and the voice quality were gradually improved and became steady in 6 months after surgery. The subjective and objective voice parameters[G, R, B, A, VHI-10, jitter, shimmer, noise to harmonic ratio(NHR), MPT], except for the fundamental frequency, were all significantly improved( t =23.47, 25.79, 18.37, 9.84, 54.45, 10.68, 8.07, 3.24, -9.08, respectively, P <0.05). In addition, there were 2 patients with no significant improvement after the operation. Steady function with no complications was observed during the 12 months (up to 3 years in 34 patients) follow-up period in 111 patients. Conclusion: Ruptured vocal fold epidermoid cysts can result in sulcus vocalis and mucosal bridges. Characteristics changes in preoperative videolaryngoscopy are effective diagnostic tools. The complete excision of the cyst wall and repair of the lamina propria can lead to satisfactory long-term effects.

Objective: To propose a scoring system based on laryngoscopic characteristics for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant vocal fold leukoplakia., Methods: Laryngoscopic images from 200 vocal fold leukoplakia cases were retrospectively analysed. The laryngoscopic signs of benign and malignant vocal fold leukoplakia were compared, and statistically significant features were assigned and accumulated to establish the leukoplakia finding score., Results: A total of five indicators associated with malignant vocal fold leukoplakia were included to construct the leukoplakia finding score, with a possible range of 0-10 points. A score of 6 points or more was indicative of a diagnosis of malignant vocal fold leukoplakia. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy values of the leukoplakia finding score were 93.8 per cent, 83.6 per cent and 86.0 per cent, respectively. The consistency in the leukoplakia finding score obtained by different laryngologists was strong (kappa = 0.809)., Conclusion: This scoring system based on laryngoscopic characteristics has high diagnostic value for distinguishing benign and malignant vocal fold leukoplakia.

Background: Current voice assessments focus on perceptive evaluation and acoustic analysis. The interaction of vocal tract pressure (P VT ) and vocal fold (VF) vibrations are important for volume and pitch control. However, there are currently little non-invasive ways to measure P VT . Limited information has been provided by previous human trials, and interactions between P VT and VF vibrations and the potential clinical application remain unclear. Here, we propose a non-invasive method for monitoring the nonlinear characteristics of P VT and VF vibrations, analyze voices from pathological and healthy individuals, and evaluate treatment efficacy., Method: Healthy volunteers and patients with benign laryngeal lesions were recruited for this study. P VT was estimated using an airflow interruption method, VF vibrational frequency was calculated from accelerometer signals, and nonlinear relationships between P VT and VF vibrations were analyzed. Results from healthy volunteers and patients, as well as pre- and post-operation for the patients, were compared., Results: For healthy volunteers, nonlinearity was exhibited as an initial increase and then prompt decrease in vibrational frequency at the end of phonation, coinciding with P VT equilibrating with the subglottal pressure upon airflow interruption. For patients, nonlinearity was present throughout the phonation period pre-operatively, but showed a similar trend to healthy volunteers post-operatively., Conclusion: This novel method simultaneously monitors P VT and VF vibration and helps clarify the role of P VT . The results demonstrate differences in nonlinear characteristics between healthy volunteers and patients, and pre-/post-operation in patients. The method may serve as an analysis tool for clinicians to assess pathological phonation and treatment efficacy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The paper aims to define the variables that elevate the risk of VFL recurrence after adequate primary treatment, and to present the Recurrence Risk Model with practical conclusions to handle pVFL and rVFL. Out of 207 patients with primary vocal fold leukoplakia (pVFL), in 41 (19.8%) recurrent VFL (rVFL) was diagnosed. All patients were assessed by using a trans-nasal flexible video-endoscope using white light, and NBI. The primary measure of our study was to investigate whether morphological features of pVFL in WL, vascular pattern in NBI, and primary histological findings could predict VFL recurrence. To create a model of risk factors, two methods were used: logistic regression and a conditional inference decision tree. The study showed smoking was the factor that significantly and most strongly increased the likelihood of rVFL, as well as the older age groups have a greater odds of rVFL. Types IV, V and VI, according to Ni 2019 classification, were associated with a significantly higher risk of rVFL. The algorithm combining patients' dependent variables and the combination of two classifications improves the predictive value of the presented VFL Recurrence Risk Model., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: To investigate the effect of office-based blue laser therapy of vocal fold polyps on voice., Methods: The medical records and video recordings of patients who underwent office-based laser therapy in a tertiary referral center between February 2020 and May 2020, and May 2021 and October 2022 was conducted. Only patients with vocal fold polyps who had undergone office-based blue laser therapy were included. The voice was evaluated before and after surgery using the Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10), GRB perceptual evaluation, acoustic analysis, and maximum phonation time., Results: A total of 18 patients were included. The mean age of the study group was 52.5 ± 11.94 years. The male-to-female ratio was 2:1. Ten patients of the total group (53.6%) had hemorrhagic polyps and the most common site was the mid-third of the vocal fold. All patients who presented for follow-up (n = 15) had partial or complete regression of the lesion (4 and 11, respectively). There was a significant decrease in the mean score of VHI-10 (17.6 ± 9.97 vs. 4.27 ± 5.76, p < 0.001) and in the means of grade of dysphonia (2.0 ± 0.73 to 0.5 ± 0.63, p < 0.001), roughness (1.88 ± 0.81 to 0.44 ± 0.51, p < 0.001) and breathiness (0.81 ± 0.75 to 0.13 ± 0.34 p < 0.001). There was also a marked decrease in the perturbation parameters (jitter and shimmer) and a significant increase in the MPT from 10.66 ± 4.22 s to 14.26 ± 6.26 s (p = 0.028)., Conclusion: Office-based blue laser therapy is an effective treatment modality in patients with vocal fold polyps., Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 133:2712-2718, 2023., (© 2023 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objective: Benign laryngeal lesions have traditionally been treated through suspension laryngoscopy under general anesthesia (GA). Recently, the development of operative videoendoscopes coupled with photoangiolytic lasers has allowed clinicians to treat these conditions in the outpatient clinic. We report our experience in the office-based (OB) setting for the treatment of patients affected by vocal fold polyps (VFPs) and Reinke's edema (RE), comparing it to patients treated under GA., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients affected by VFP or RE. A 445 nm diode blue laser was used through the operative channel of a flexible video-endoscope for OB procedures, while GA surgeries were carried out with cold steel instrumentation. The Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) represented the primary outcome. Endoscopic outcomes, duration, and morbidity of the procedures were investigated as secondary outcomes., Results: A total of 153 patients were retrospectively enrolled. 52 were treated in an OB setting, while 91 underwent GA. Regarding patients with RE, both the OB and GA cohorts showed a significant improvement in VHI-10 (from 12.7 to 2.6 and 19.5 to 5.1, respectively; p < 0.001), as did those with VFPs (from 11.8 to 2.3 and 15.9 to 2.9 respectively; p < 0.001). No differences were found when comparing VHI-10 in the OB and GA cohorts. The mean procedural time of OB treatment (4.9 min) was significantly shorter than GA (37.1 min). No adverse events were reported., Conclusion: Our data demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the OB setting. For selected patients, OB treatments offer comparable vocal outcomes, favorable morbidity, and reduced operation times, making them an appealing alternative to the traditional approach., Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 133:2665-2672, 2023., (© 2023 The Authors. The Laryngoscope published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objective: To evaluate risk factors for poor prognosis in vocal fold leukoplakia., Methods: Clinical data were collected for 344 patients with vocal fold leukoplakia who received surgical treatment in our otolaryngology department from October 2010 to June 2019. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses of the relevant factors were conducted., Results: Among the 344 patients, 98 exhibited recurrence and 30 underwent a malignant change. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that size of the lesion ( p = 0.03, odds ratio = 2.14), form of the lesion under white light ( p < 0.001), surgical method ( p < 0.001, odds ratio = 0.28) and pathological type ( p < 0.001) were independent factors that affected the recurrence of vocal fold leukoplakia. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, the sole independent risk factor for malignant transformation of vocal fold leukoplakia was pathological type ( p < 0.001)., Conclusion: The outlook for vocal fold leukoplakia depends on several clinical factors, especially pathological type. The more severe the pathological type, the more likely it is to recur or become cancerous.

Introduction: Office-based laser procedures in laryngology have gained a lot of popularity in the last decade with the use of the KTP, PDL and Thulium lasers. Preliminary investigations currently report on the use of the 445 nm wavelength Blue laser for the treatment of various laryngeal pathologies, given its dual photoangiolytic and cutting properties., Objective: We aim to investigate the safety and efficacy of the Blue laser for the treatment of vocal fold lesions., Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of eleven patients with a variety of vocal fold lesions (polyps, Reinke's edema, papilloma, and leukoplakia), that underwent un-sedated office-based treatment using the 445 nm blue laser. The primary outcome was to compare preoperative to postoperative Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10) score and self-reported voice improvement using a visual analog scale (VAS). We also compared fiberoptic laryngeal examination before and after treatment., Results: Eleven un-sedated office-based procedures using the blue laser were performed. There was improvement in the mean VHI-10 score (n = 8) with a decrease from 15.13 ± 8.77 to 3.50 ± 3.46 (P= 0.015). Similarly, the mean VAS score (n = 7) decreased from 6.14 ± 1.21 to 1.71 ± 1.60 (P< 0.003). All patients had a complete or partial regression of the vocal fold lesions on fiberoptic laryngeal examination. None of the patients had complications after the procedure., Conclusion: Blue laser therapy can be suggested as a safe and effective alternative treatment modality in office-based laryngology procedures for a variety of vocal fold lesions. A larger series is needed to better validate the efficacy of this laser as a new treatment modality., (Copyright © 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Long-term voice-abuse or sudden vocal fold microvascular disruption can lead to injury and subsequent repair/remodeling of the vocal fold mucosa. Periostin is known to be involved in airway remodeling and in various otolaryngological diseases. In ischemic heart disease, increased CD31 expression has been observed around cardiomyocytes during remodeling, and endothelial proliferation has been reported to occur at these sites., Objectives: We investigated the expression and the roles of CD31, CD34, and periostin in the formation of vocal fold polyps., Materials and Methods: Fifty-seven samples of vocal fold polyps were investigate histopathologically and immunohistochemically., Result: Expression of CD31 and CD34 was detected in 41 (71.9%) and 53 (93.0%) samples, respectively, obtained from patients with vocal fold polyp. Expression of periostin was detected in 41 (71.9%) samples obtained from patients with vocal polyps. The vocal polyp samples could be classified into three histological subtypes. Three patterns of CD31 and CD34 expression were observed in the vocal polyp. Four patterns of periostin expression were observed in vocal polyps. An association was observed between the CD31 expression pattern and the histological subtype of vocal fold polyps., Conclusion and Significance: In vocal fold polyps, evaluation of vascular endothelial markers may be useful for staging.

Objectives/hypothesis: Glucocorticoids (GC)s are commonly employed to treat vocal fold (VF) pathologies. However, VF atrophy has been associated with intracordal GC injections. Dexamethasone-induced skeletal muscle atrophy is well-documented in other tissues and believed to be mediated by increased muscle proteolysis via upregulation of Muscle Ring Finger (MuRF)-1 and Atrogin-1. Mechanisms of dexamethasone-mediated VF atrophy have not been described. This pilot study employed in vitro and in vivo models to investigate the effects of dexamethasone on VF epithelium, thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle, and TA-derived myoblasts. We hypothesized that dexamethasone will increase atrophy-associated gene expression in TA muscle and myoblasts and decrease TA muscle fiber size and epithelial thickness., Study Design: In vitro, pre-clinical., Methods: TA myoblasts were isolated from a female Sprague-Dawley rat and treated with 1 μM dexamethasone for 24-h. In vivo, 15 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: (1) bilateral intracordal injection of 40 μL dexamethasone (10 mg/ml; n = 5), (2) volume-matched saline (n = 5), and (3) untreated controls (n = 5). Larynges were harvested 7-days post-injection. Across in vivo and in vitro experimentation, MuRF-1 and Atrogin-1 mRNA expression were measured via RT-qPCR. TA muscle fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) and epithelial thickness were also quantified in vivo., Results: Dexamethasone increased MuRF-1 gene expression in TA myoblasts. Dexamethasone injection, however, did not alter atrophy-associated gene expression, TA CSA, or epithelial thickness in vivo., Conclusion: Dexamethasone increased atrogene expression in TA myoblasts, providing foundational insight into GC induced atrophic gene transcription. Repeated dexamethasone injections may be required to elicit atrophy in vivo., Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 133:2264-2270, 2023., (© 2022 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Background: Ossified cartilage is much more susceptible to cancer infiltration, but the reason remains unknown, and the relationship between the ossification pattern and cancer infiltration has not been studied., Methods: The presence of thyroid cartilage ossification, cancer infiltration, ossification pattern (usual: direction from inferior to superior; unusual: other than the usual pattern), and distance between cancer and ossified cartilage were evaluated in laryngectomy specimens., Results: There were 28 and 27 cases of usual and unusual patterns, respectively. There was no association between ossification pattern and cancer infiltration. However, the distance between the ossified area and cancer cells was greater in the usual pattern than in the unusual pattern (p = 0.006). And the usual pattern was more frequently observed in cases with a distance >1 mm than in cases with cancer infiltration or a distance ≤1 mm (p = 0.004)., Conclusion: These results suggest the possibility of an active ossification due to tumor progression., (© 2023 The Authors. Head & Neck published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Congenital laryngeal cysts are rare lesions that may occur in newborns, characterized by symptoms of respiratory obstruction and severe dyspnea. The aim of this study was to indicate optimal surgical treatment of congenital laryngeal cysts in newborns. We present a case series of five neonates treated for congenital laryngeal cysts during the 2011-2017 period at our pediatric tertiary care hospital. Patient age ranged from one day to 14 days. All patients had unilateral cysts. After surgical excision, burning of the walls of the cysts was performed by a CO2 laser. In one case, after four months, a recurrent cyst appeared, and re-operation was performed. Our relatively small case series indicates that symptoms such as stridor and labored breathing can occur already during the first days of life and potentially endanger the patient's life. Complete excision of the cyst and burning of its walls with CO2 laser leads to complete cure and prevent recurrence of the lesion., (Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital.)

Long-term voice abuse or sudden vocal fold microvascular disruption may lead to injury and subsequent repair/remodeling in the vocal fold mucosa. Periostin is known to be involved in airway remodeling and also in various otolaryngological diseases. D-β-aspartic acid is the major isomer of D-aspartic acid found in elderly tissue. In this study we investigated the expression and the role of D-β-aspartic acid and periostin in the formation of vocal fold polyps. The expression patterns of D-β-aspartic acid and periostin in 36 surgical specimens of vocal fold polyps from 36 patients were investigated immunohistochemically. In the epithelium of vocal polyps, D-β-aspartic acid was expressed in all cases. Expression of D-β-aspartic acid was detected in 25 samples obtained from patients with vocal fold polyps stroma. Expression of periostin was detected in 28 samples obtained from patients with vocal fold polyps. Two patterns of D-β-aspartic acid expression were observed in vocal fold polyps stroma: positive type and negative type. The following four patterns of periostin expression were observed in vocal fold polyps: negative type, superficial type, infiltrative type, and diffuse type. An association was observed between D-β-aspartic acid expression patterns and periostin expression patterns. From these findings we speculate that periostin and D-β-aspartic acid participate in certain pathological changes in vocal fold polyps, such as extracellular matrix accumulation, local fibrosis, and the formation and development of vocal fold polyps.

The main causes of voice disorders in children with adverse vocal behavior include benign lesions of the vocal folds caused by voice abuse or misuses, such as vocal fold nodules, vocal fold polyps, and laryngitis. Long-term voice disorders can affect the physical and mental health of children. Reviewing the literature of the last two decades on "Vocal Fold Nodules," "Vocal Fold Polyp," "Voice disorder," "Voice Abuse," "Voice Misuse," "Pediatrics," and "Children" with the appropriate Boolean operators.  Conclusion: A total of 315 results were returned on an initial PubMed search. All articles from 2000 to 2022 written in English or Chinese were screened. Duplicate articles, those relating to adults only or concerned with the malignant lesion of the vocal cord, were excluded, resulting in 196 articles of interest. Relevant references and books have also been consulted, and we provide a review of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of these maladaptive vocal behavioral voice disorders. What is Known: • Hoarseness is the most common voice symptom in children, and there are various causes of hoarseness in children. However, there is a lack of reviews on voice disorders caused by adverse vocal habits in children. • Voice training is a conservative treatment method for children with voice disorders , and it is important to clarify the factors that influence the effectiveness of voice training for children. What is New: • This review of the personality and family characteristics of children with adverse vocal behavioural voice disorders provides a valuable guide to the clinical planning of subsequent treatment. • This article discusses and summarises some of the factors that may influence the effectiveness of voice training in children and collates some of the scales and questionnaires currently used in children that are important in predicting the effectiveness of voice training., (© 2023. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: Vocal fold atrophy (VFA) is associated with aging and Parkinson's disease (PD). Clinical diagnosis of VFA depends on several visual-perceptual laryngostroboscopy findings that are inherently subjective. The purpose of this study was to use quantitative measurements to; (1) examine the relationships between VFA and dysphonia severity and (2) evaluate differences in VFA in patients with age-related VFA versus PD., Methods: Thirty-six patients >60 years of age with VFA were included in this retrospective cohort study. Demographic information, medical history, Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V), Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10), and still images from the stroboscopic exam were obtained. Image J™ was used to measure VFA, including bowing index (BI), normalized glottal gap area, and normalized mucosal wave amplitude. Pearson's correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between VFA, CAPE-V, and VHI-10. t-Tests and multivariate linear regression were used to compare VFA measures by dysphonia severity (CAPE-V <30 vs. >30) and diagnosis (age-related vocal atrophy [ARVA] and PD)., Results: BI was positively correlated with CAPE-V. Patients with CAPE-V >30 had a significantly larger BI compared to those with CAPE-V <30. Patients with PD had significantly larger BI than those with ARVA. Diagnosis of PD also predicted a larger BI after controlling for age and CAPE-V., Conclusion: Quantitative measures supported an association between bowing severity and dysphonia severity in patients with PD and ARVA. A PD diagnosis significantly predicted more severe BI. These findings demonstrate the potential utility of BI. Quantitative VFA measures might also provide insight into the mechanisms of ARVA and dysphonia., Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 133:1462-1469, 2023., (© 2022 The Authors. The Laryngoscope published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objectives: Current treatments for benign vocal lesions consist mainly voice therapy and phonomicrosurgery. However, these options are not always suitable for professional voice users because of their tight performance schedule and limited time for voice rest. This study investigated vocal fold steroid injection (VFSI) as an alternative treatment., Study Design: Matched case series., Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 28 professional voice users (i.e., singers, actors and news anchors) who received VFSI for vocal nodules and polyps in an office setting of a tertiary teaching hospital. Outcomes were evaluated using videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS), the 10-item Voice Handicap Index (VHI-10), maximum phonation time, and acoustic and perceptual analyses before and 1 month after VFSI. Study results were compared with 56 patients of nonprofessional voice users (i.e., routine or high occupational vocal demands), matched in a 1:2 ratio by age, sex, and treatment date., Results: After VFSI, VLS revealed substantial lesion resolution in 82% professional voice users. One professional voice user developed a self-limited vocal fold hematoma after VFSI. VHI-10 scores in the professional group decreased from 21 to 14 points, compared with 23 to 16 points in the non-professional group, demonstrating a significant within-group effect (P < 0.01, GEE) and a nonsignificant between-group effect (P = 0.86). Other outcomes also improved significantly after VFSI (P < 0.05), without significant differences between the two groups., Conclusion: VFSI can be an effective and safe alternative treatment for professional voice users with benign vocal lesions., (Copyright © 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to detect voice disorders related to vocal fold nodule, Reinke's edema and neurological pathologies through multiband cepstral features of the sustained vowel /a/. Detection is performed between pairs of study groups and multiband analysis is accomplished using the wavelet transform. For each pair of groups, a parameters selection is carried out. Time series of the selected parameters are used as input for four classifiers with leave-one-out cross validation. Classification accuracies of 100% are achieved for all pairs including the control group, surpassing the state-of-art methods based on cepstral features, while accuracies higher than 88.50% are obtained for the pathological pairs. The results indicated that the method may be adequate to assist in the diagnosis of the voice disorders addressed. The results must be updated in the future with a larger population to ensure generalization., (Copyright © 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Sulcus vocalis (SV) is a longitudinal groove in the free edge of the true vocal cord. It may impair phonation with incomplete glottic closure, phonasthenia and hoarseness. This study aims to detect a correlation between benign vocal cord lesions and the incidence of the SV., Methods: A retrospective study was carried out on patients who underwent transoral surgery due to benign vocal fold lesions and were selected according to strict criteria. Patients were divided into a group with sulcus vocalis (Group wSV) and a group without sulcus vocalis (Group w/oSV). The possible correlations between variables were assessed by the Pearson chi-square test ( p < 0.05)., Results: The study included 232 vocal cord lesions in 229 patients: 62.88% were females whose mean age was 46.61 ± 14.04. The most frequent diseases were polyps (37.94%), nodules (18.53%) and Reinke's edema (21.12%). Statistically significant relationships were found between age and SV ( p -value 0.0005) and between mild dysplasia and SV ( p -value 0.03)., Conclusions: This study did not detect a cause-effect relationship between SV and benign vocal fold lesions. SV within vocal fold lesions is more common in younger patients, suggesting a congenital nature of SV. In conclusion, in the case of a benign vocal fold lesion, a possible SV should be considered and researched to provide the patient the best healthcare.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify vocal fold leukoplakia (VFL) lesions on the inferior surface as a risk factor for recurrence., Methods: This was a retrospective study with data collected from 2001 to 2018. The study comprised 37 patients with VFL, divided into the nonrecurrent and recurrent groups. We examined the clinicopathological characteristics and the surgical procedures performed in each patient., Results: Among the 37 patients, 15 (40.5%) had residual (3) or recurrent (12) VFL. Of those patients with and without recurrence, 8 of 12 (66.7%) and 6 of 22 (27.3%), respectively, had inferior surface lesions of the vocal fold at the initial operation ( P = .036). Recurrences were significantly higher in patients with inferior surface lesions. Other evaluated factors did not show significance for recurrence., Conclusion: The presence of VFL lesions on the inferior surface is a significant risk factor for recurrence.

Background: The aim of the study was comparing the diagnostic role of the white light (WL) endoscopy, video laryngostroboscopy (VLS), and narrow-band imaging (NBI) in the evaluation of the benign vocal fold lesions., Material and Methods: From March 2018 to June 2019, a total of 118 cases were enrolled in this study. Ninety-eight patients were suspected with vocal fold nodules, cysts, polyps, and sulcus vocalis and 20 patients without a history of dysphonia. Each patient was examined by WL, VLS, and NBI endoscopy. Recorded images and videos were analyzed and scored by three otorhinolaryngologists who had at least 3 years of experience in phoniatrics field. The evaluation results were compared between the methods and the physicians., Results: A total of 118 cases were grouped by their confirmed diagnosis, vocal fold nodules (n = 28), vocal fold cyst (n = 24), vocal fold polyp (n = 9), and sulcus vocalis (n = 37). When the correct diagnosis rates of the physicians were compared, the statistical significance was found between the physicians in the WL and VLS method (P= 0.014, P= 0.027). No statistically significant difference was found among physicians in NBI method (P = 0.368). The difference between the diagnostic methods was found to be statistically significant in reaching the accurate diagnosis for benign vocal fold lesions (P< 0.001). While the difference between NBI-WL and VLS-WL was statistically significant (P< 0.001 and P< 0.001). The difference between NBI-VLS was not statistically significant while evaluating the vocal fold nodules, cysts, and sulcus vocalis separately (P= 0.102, P = 0.026, P = 0.157). Otherwise, it was statistically significant (P= 0.002) while evaluating total benign lesions in the study. The difference between NBI-VLS combination and VLS, NBI-VLS combination and VLS-WL combination were statistically significant (P< 0.001 and P= 0.001)., Conclusion: This study showed that NBI assessments have similar accuracy and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) to VLS and have a higher value than WL endoscopy in reaching the diagnosis for benign vocal fold lesions. Therefore, NBI can be accepted as a promising approach to identify benign laryngeal lesions due to its optical properties., (Copyright © 2021 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

An 86-year-old woman with Alzheimer disease collapsed in her nursing home and was not able to be resuscitated. At autopsy, the major findings were in the larynx where a pedunculated oncocytic cystadenoma had occluded the glottis. Oncocytic cysts or cystadenomas of the larynx are rare histologically benign lesions that account for only 0.1-1% of laryngeal lesions. While the usual presentation is of a sensation of a mass in the throat, hoarseness, or stridor, very occasionally, there may be acute airway compromise and sudden death. Oncocytic cystadenoma should, therefore, be included in the differential diagnosis of potentially lethal obstructive laryngeal lesions., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: The larynx is the most common site of localized head and neck amyloidosis. Our study aimed to review the clinical features, treatments, and outcomes associated with localized laryngeal amyloidosis (LA). We also compared these features between two different time periods to evaluate the evolution of LA management., Methods: A literature search using PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Cochrane Library identified cases of LA published between 1891 and 2021. Biopsy-proven cases of localized LA were included. Non-English studies, animal studies, and reviews were excluded., Results: 282 patients (1891-1999: 142 patients, 2000-2021: 140 patients) from 129 studies were included. Results are reported as 1891-2000 vs. 2000-2021: Mean age was 48.5 years (range, 8-90 years) vs. 46.0 years (range, 9-84 years). The most common presenting symptoms were dysphonia (n = 30, 95 % vs. n = 127, 96 %) and difficulty breathing (n = 37, 27 % vs. n = 35, 27 %). A total of 62 (44 %) vs. 46 (33 %) lesions were found in the true vocal folds and 35 (25 %) vs. 59 (42 %) were found in the false vocal folds. 133 (94 %) vs. 137 (98 %) patients underwent surgical interventions to investigate and/or treat LA. Recurrent LA was reported in 27 (19 %) vs. 33 (24 %) patients with a mean time to recurrence of 25.4 months (range, 0.3-132 months) vs. 34.5 months (range, 0.8-144 months). Of cases reporting survival rate, 104 (97 %) vs. 107 (99 %) were alive at source study endpoints., Conclusion: LA typically exhibits an indolent course; therefore, early intervention may address longstanding symptoms. Recurrent disease poses a clinical challenge in patients with LA., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Long-term voice abuse or sudden vocal fold microvascular disruption may lead to injury and subsequent repair/remodeling in the vocal fold mucosa. Periostin is known to be involved in airway remodeling and also in various otolaryngological diseases. The aim of this article was to investigate the expression and the role of periostin in the formation of vocal fold polyps. The expression patterns of periostin in 59 surgical specimens of vocal fold polyps from 54 patients were investigated immunohistochemically. Normal vocal fold mucosa specimens from 5 patients who had undergone total laryngectomy were used as the control group. Retrospective study with planned data collection was conducted at Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University. Expression of periostin was detected in 43 (72.9%) samples and four patterns of periostin expression were observed in vocal fold polyps: negative type, superficial type, infiltrative type, and diffuse type. An association was observed between periostin expression patterns and the histological subtypes of vocal fold polyps. The infiltrative pattern of periostin expression was significantly dominant in vascular-hyaline types. Expression of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) was also detected in the vocal fold polyps. Our results confirmed that periostin might be involved in certain pathological changes in vocal fold polyps, such as extracellular matrix accumulation, local fibrosis, and formation and development of vocal fold polyps.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of high-definition intelligent endoscopy (iSCAN) combined with stroboscopy in identifying vocal cord leukoplakia. Methods: Seventy-nine patients with vocal cord leukoplakia who underwent CO 2 laser laryngeal microsurgery and diagnosed by histopathology were recruited between October 2020 to August 2021. The morphological features, microvascular morphology and mucosal waves were observed by stroboscope; SPSS 20.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: There were 79 patients with a total of 119 lesions (56 on left and 63 on right).Pathological examination showed that 51 sides of the vocal cords were malignant lesions (severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma), and 68 sides were benign lesions.Under stroboscopy, 69 sides of mucosal wave were normal or slightly decreased, and 50 sides were severely decreased or disappeared.The decrease degree of mucosal wave was positively correlated with malignant lesions ( ρ =0.687, P <0.001).Under iSCAN endoscopy, there was a positive correlation between the morphological changes of microvessels at the lesion site (vertical) and the malignant lesion ( ρ =0.687, P <0.001).Univariate analysis showed that lesion size, thickness, uneven color, granular elevation, peripheral erythema and asymmetry were positively correlated with malignant lesions ( ρ =0.530, 0.401, 0.538, 0.315, 0.497, 0.281, P <0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of pathological malignancy with large lesions was 5.437 times higher than those of small lesions, the vertical vascular changes under iSCAN were 8.711 times higher than that of normal vascular morphology, and the severe reduction or disappearance of mucosal waves was 9.12 times higher than that of normal or mild reduction of mucosal waves. Conclusion: ISCAN can be combined with staphyloscopy to comprehensively observe and evaluate the changes of vocal cord morphology, submucosal microvessels and mucosal wave of vocal cord in patients with vocal cord leukoplosis, thus improving the ability to distinguish benign and malignant lesions.

Vocal fold nodules are benign vocal cord lesions which develop in voice abusers, including children, though chronic cough, sinusitis, and reflux may also be the causative agents. Since low or no-evidence treatment strategies, like the boone technique, are in use in paediatrics, this study was conducted to determine the treatment strategies used by speech-language pathologists in paediatric vocal fold nodules using a cross-sectional survey at Riphah International University, Lahore, from October 2016 to May 2017. Sixty-five speech-language pathologists working with children in private clinics and multidisciplinary settings were recruited using purposive sampling. A self-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Analysis using SPSS -18 revealed that a combination of voice therapy and vocal hygiene was the most favoured treatment used by 65 (100%) speech-language pathologists, followed by 58 (89.2%) who also favoured respiratory and relaxation exercises, and 56 (86.2%) who also included parental counselling. Hence, a combination of voice therapy and vocal hygiene is a good therapeutic technique being practiced by speech pathologists for the treatment of vocal nodules among paediatric population.

Objective: To evaluate the pattern of presentation and management of laryngotracheobronchial amyloidosis at a tertiary care academic center over a 27 year period., Methods: In a retrospective review, the electronic medical record at a tertiary care academic center was queried for encounters with 3 laryngologists between 1996 and 2019 which included the ICD-9 or ICD-10 diagnosis of amyloidosis. Demographics, clinical presentation, referral diagnoses, medical history, family history, laboratory values, radiology studies, and treatment modalities of subjects were collated. Results were analyzed using standard univariate descriptive statistics., Results: Seventeen subjects were identified with an average age at diagnosis of 58 years (range 26-76 years). The most common amyloid type on biopsy was immunoglobulin light chain (AL) subtype. The most common location of laryngeal amyloid at diagnosis was the glottis and disease was more likely to be bilateral at the time of diagnosis in this location. Supraglottic disease more often had a unilateral presentation and had a tendency to spread to additional laryngeal subsites. Nearly 25% of subjects had associated systemic disease, including multiple myeloma, auto-immune disease, and familial ATTR mutation., Conclusions: The overall rate of associated systemic disease was low in our study cohort; however, it is higher than typically referenced in extant literature. Our cohort demonstrates that while laryngeal amyloidosis is a chronic condition, the behavior is generally indolent with a low treatment burden.

Objectives: To evaluate the characteristics of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) in patients with different hypertrophic laryngeal diseases and to explore the relationship between LPR and these diseases., Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed. The clinical data of 154 patients were collected. According to their diagnoses, patients were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 included 49 patients with vocal cord polyps. Group 2 contained 52 patients with vocal cord leukoplakia. Group 3 included 53 patients with laryngeal carcinoma. The reflux symptom indexes (RSIs), reflux finding scores (RFSs), and Ryan scores of all patients were evaluated and compared., Results: Patients with vocal cord polyps were the youngest of the 3 groups, and those with laryngeal carcinoma were the oldest. A male preponderance emerged in each group. In total, 128 patients (83.12%) had positive RSI/RFS values and 60 (60/146, 41.1%) patients had positive Ryan scores. The positive RSI/RFS rates of both groups 1 and 2 (89.80% and 92.16%, respectively) were significantly higher than that of group 3 (69.81%). Moreover, the positive Ryan score rates in both groups 1 and 2 (39.58% and 53.85%, respectively) were significantly higher than that of group 3 (28.26%)., Conclusions: Laryngopharyngeal reflux occurs in many patients with vocal cord polyps, vocal cord leukoplakia, and vocal cord carcinoma, indicating that LPR may be important in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Laryngopharyngeal reflux occurs more common in patients with vocal cord polyps and leukoplakia and less common in those with laryngeal carcinoma, suggesting the role of LPR on these diseases may be different.

Objectives/hypothesis: Create an autonomous computational system to classify endoscopy findings., Study Design: Computational analysis of vocal fold images at an academic, tertiary-care laryngology practice., Methods: A series of normal and abnormal vocal fold images were obtained from the image database of an academic tertiary care laryngology practice. The benign images included normals, nodules, papilloma, polyps, and webs. A separate set of carcinoma and leukoplakia images comprised a single malignant-premalignant class. All images were classified with their existing labels. Images were randomly withheld from each class for testing. The remaining images were used to train and validate a neural network for classifying vocal fold lesions. Two classifiers were developed. A multiclass system classified the five categories of benign lesions. A separate analysis was performed using a binary classifier trained to distinguish malignant-premalignant from benign lesions., Results: Precision ranged from 71.7% (polyps) to 89.7% (papilloma), and recall ranged from 70.0% (papilloma) to 88.0% (nodules) for the benign classifier. Overall accuracy for the benign classifier was 80.8%. The binary classifier correctly identified 92.0% of the malignant-premalignant lesions with an overall accuracy of 93.0%., Conclusions: Autonomous classification of endoscopic images with artificial intelligence technology is possible. Better network implementations and larger datasets will continue to improve classifier accuracy. A clinically useful optical cancer screening system may require a multimodality approach that incorporates nonvisual spectra., Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 132:S1-S8, 2022., (© 2020 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objective and Importance: Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a benign and rare non-Langerhans cell histiocytic proliferative disorder. Laryngeal involvement is an unusual site of extranodal involvement of RDD. Laryngeal RDD can cause life-threatening airway obstruction that requires effective control of the disease. In this study, we report three cases of laryngeal RDD with excellent and durable responses to thalidomide., Clinical Presentation: Patient 1 was a 39-year-old male who presented with a two-year history of nasal obstruction. Patient 2 was a 26-year-old woman who presented complaining of a hoarse voice for one year. Patient 3 was a 24-year-old man who presented with complaints of a hoarse voice and progressing dyspnea for five months. Electronic laryngoscopy revealed submucous nodular lesions in the nasal cavity, nasopharynx, and larynx of the three patients. Biopsy of the lesions showed large histiocytes with abundant pale cytoplasm which were S-100 and CD68 positive consistent with RDD., Intervention: Before thalidomide treatment, patient 1 received chemotherapy and six times surgical excision due to the recurrence of laryngeal lesions. Patient 2 failed steroid treatment. Patient 3 underwent an emergency tracheostomy due to airway obstruction. All three patients then received thalidomide 100 mg/d treatment and achieved satisfactory and durable responses with the longest follow-up of 45 months., Conclusion: Thalidomide may induce long-term remission in laryngeal RDD.

Objectives: To explore the diagnostic value and pathological correlation of narrow band imaging (NBI) classification in laryngeal lesions., Methods: A total of 112 patients (123 lesions) with laryngeal lesions from July 2018 to May 2019 were selected in this study. All patients were examined by NBI and white light imaging endoscopy. The NBI endoscopy was applied to classify the observed lesion sites according to intraepithelial papillary capillary loop pattern. The gold standard of diagnosis was pathological results. To evaluate the consistency of NBI classification and pathological results., Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the diagnosis for benign, precancerous, and malignant lesions under the NBI endoscopy were 90.91%, 81.19%, 74.07%, 85.42%; 41.67%, 92.93%, 58.82%, 86.79%; and 93.51%, 65.22%, 91.14%, 68.18%, respectively. There was a high consistency between NBI classification and pathological results (κ = 0.679, P < .001)., Conclusions: The NBI classification can improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of laryngeal lesions. It is important for early diagnosis and treatment of vocal cord leukoplakia and laryngeal cancer.

Background: Malnutrition and systemic inflammatory response have been confirmed to be important risk factors for various cancers., Objective: To compare pretreatment prognostic nutrition index (PNI) among patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), laryngeal precancerous lesion (LPL) and laryngeal benign lesion (LBL)., Methods: A total of 253 male patients with laryngeal lesions were divided into LBL, LPL with low risk (LPL (l)), LPL with high risk (LPL(h)), LSCC (i), LSCC (ii) and LSCC (iii) groups according to their histopathological findings and the TNM staging system. PNI and other clinical parameters were calculated. Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U or Chi-square or Fisher's exact test were used for comparison of different parameters among groups. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI)., Results: The PNI in the LSCC group was significantly lower than those of the LBL and LPL groups ( p  = .013 and p  = .004, respectively), and decreased from LPL(l) to LSCC (iii) (from 53.97 ± 3.69 to 50.02 ± 4.75). LPL patients with lower PNI values had a higher risk of LSCC, the OR was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.84, 0.97) for a one-unit decrease., Conclusions: PNI could be a simple and reproducible marker for predicting the severity of laryngeal diseases.

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker of systemic inflammation that informs clinical decisions regarding recurrence and overall survival in most epithelial cancers. Radiotherapy for head and neck cancer leads to mucositis in almost all patients and severe radiation-mucositis affects their quality of life (QOL). However, little is known about the NLR for severe mucositis. Therefore, this study aimed to show the association between the NLR and severe radiation-induced mucositis in hypopharyngeal or laryngeal cancer patients., Methods: In this retrospective study, we determined the incidence of grade 3 mucositis in 99 patients who were receiving definitive radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for hypopharyngeal or laryngeal cancer. We performed univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to investigate the characteristics of grade 3 mucositis. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to evaluate the occurrence of grade 3 mucositis between two groups with high (NLR > 5) or low (NLR < 5) systemic inflammation., Results: The incidence of grade 3 mucositis was 39%. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the NLR (Odd ratio [OR] = 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-1.16; p = 0.016) and smoking (OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 1.00-1.03; p = 0.048) were significantly associated with grade 3 mucositis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the NLR was independently associated with grade 3 mucositis (OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.01-1.17; p = 0.021). Kaplan-Meier curves also showed that patients with higher NLR (NLR > 5) prior to radiotherapy developed grade 3 mucositis more frequently than those with lower NLR during radiotherapy (p = 0.045)., Conclusion: This study suggests that a higher NLR is a risk factor and predictor of severe radiation-induced mucositis in hypopharyngeal or laryngeal cancer patients., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Candidiasis is a rare entity reported as an isolated and primary laryngeal disease. In this condition, inhaled steroids were the single most common predisposing factor. Also mycotic infections of larynx are frequently seen in patients with immune insufficiency, although they have also been reported in individual with normal immune status. We report a case of isolated laryngeal Candidiasis in an immunocompetent individual, with an unusual presentation with exophytic lesion, edema, ulceration, white plaque, and pseudomembranous formation mimicking supraglottic carcinoma, to highlight the clinical of this condition and provide a review of the literature.

Objective: Office-based injection laryngoplasty (IL) has emerged as a useful procedure for otolaryngologists to correct glottic insufficiency while avoiding the costs and risks of general anesthesia. This is the first study focused on addressing the safety of bilateral IL for bilateral vocal fold (VF) atrophy., Methods: Patient records were reviewed from Emory University Hospital Midtown during the period of 2005 to 2017. Patients who underwent awake, bilateral transthyrohyoid, transoral, transcricothyroid, or transthyroid cartilage IL for bilateral VF atrophy were analyzed. All procedures, including repeat injections, were bilateral. Complication rate was used to evaluate safety. Patients with vocal cord paralysis, paresis, scar, and sulcus were excluded from the study., Results: Total 174 procedures met inclusion criteria. There were four complications, yielding a complication rate of 2.3%. Complications included aborted cases for difficult anatomy or poor patient tolerance, injection material not resorbing, and a VF hematoma. No patients had any airway emergencies or required admission to the hospital or evaluation in the emergency room., Conclusions: This study illustrates a low complication rate for awake, bilateral IL in treating bilateral VF atrophy. This supports other studies that promote the safety of this procedure in the awake setting. Complications were associated with patient tolerance, unique anatomy, and in one case, anticoagulant medication. The low complication rate supports the conclusion that bilateral medialization IL is safe to perform in the office-based, awake setting., (Copyright © 2020 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives/hypothesis: Vocal fold atrophy, scar, and sulcus reduce the vibratory function of the vocal fold mucosa, which causes severe refractory dysphonia. We have reported encouraging preliminary results using an intracordal injection of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and showed improvement in phonatory parameters and voice. The present study summarizes our experience with 100 cases of stiffened vocal folds that were treated with bFGF injections., Study Design: Retrospective chart review with Interstitial Review Board (IRB) approval., Methods: Local injection of bFGF was performed in 100 cases of vocal fold pathology, which included 43 cases of vocal fold atrophy, 41 cases with scar, and 16 cases with sulcus. Ten micrograms of bFGF were injected into the vocal folds under topical anesthesia 4 times in each patient. Therapeutic outcomes were examined with maximum phonation time (MPT), voice handicap index-10 (VHI-10), and GRBAS scale., Results: MPT, VHI-10, and GRBAS scores significantly improved in all pathology groups. An improvement on the VHI-10 greater than five points was observed in 82% of atrophy cases, 78% of scar cases, and 67% of sulcus cases. Improvement on the VHI-10 was significantly better in the atrophy group than the scar or sulcus groups. The mild/moderate cases of scar and sulcus showed better improvement than severe cases., Conclusions: The current large case series indicates positive effects of intracordal injection of bFGF for improvement of voice with no severe adverse events. The effects appeared best for cases of atrophy, while the treatment of severe scar and sulcus requires further improvement., Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:2059-2064, 2021., (© 2020 American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society Inc, “The Triological Society” and American Laryngological Association (ALA).)

Objectives: Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic inflammatory disease with extrathoracic manifestations, most commonly affecting the young and middle-aged, female and Black populations. Diagnosis usually requires evidence of non-caseating granulomata and, when treated, prognosis is usually favourable. We aim to establish the incidence, clinical features and optimal treatment of ENT manifestations of this disease., Design: We performed a PubMed literature review to determine the evidence base supporting this., Results: ENT manifestations are present in 5%-15% of patients with sarcoidosis, often as a presenting feature, and require vigilance for swift recognition and coordinated additional treatment specific to the organ. Laryngeal sarcoidosis presents with difficulty in breathing, dysphonia and cough, and may be treated by speech and language therapy (SLT) or intralesional injection, dilatation or tissue reduction. Nasal disease presents with crusting, rhinitis, nasal obstruction and anosmia, usually without sinus involvement. It is treated by topical nasal or intralesional treatments but may also require endoscopic sinus surgery, laser treatment or even nasal reconstruction. Otological disease is uncommon but includes audiovestibular symptoms, both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss, and skin lesions., Conclusions: The consequences of ENT manifestations of sarcoidosis can be uncomfortable, disabling and even life-threatening. Effective management strategies require good diagnostic skills and use of specific therapies combined with established treatments such as corticosteroids. Comparisons of treatment outcomes are needed to establish best practice in this area., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives/hypothesis: Singers have high vocal demands and are at increased risk of developing voice disorders. Different singing genres place different technical demands on the voice. However, differences in laryngeal pathology based on genre have not been well-researched. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of laryngeal pathology in different genres of professional and amateur singers who present with a voice complaint., Study Design: Retrospective review., Methods: Retrospective review of patients seen at a tertiary laryngology practice. Self-identified singers who reported their primary singing genre and categorized their singing as a full-time job, part-time job, or amateur involvement were included. Type and prevalence of pathology were calculated based on genre and professional status., Results: Of the 302 self-identified singers, 54% (n = 164) had laryngeal pathology. Among those with pathology, the most common finding was fibrotic lesion (38.4%, 63/164). Genres in which a majority of singers had pathology were other (69.2%, 9/13), choral (64.7%, 11/17), pop (63.2%, 12/19), musical theater (61.4%, 43/70), country (100%, 4/4), and Latin (100%, 2/2). The highest prevalence of pathology was seen in part-time professional singers (62.2%, 41/66) and full-time professionals (60.8%, 62/102), compared to amateurs (45.1%, 60/133)., Conclusions: Laryngeal pathology is prevalent in singers presenting with a voice complaint. Regardless of genre or professional status, fibrotic lesions were the most common pathological finding. This study provides preliminary data on the prevalence of different laryngeal pathologies found in singers by genre and degree of professional involvement., Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:2076-2080, 2021., (© 2020 American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society Inc, "The Triological Society" and American Laryngological Association (ALA).)

Background: Despite considerable advances in laryngological research, there is still a plethora of (benign) vocal fold pathologies that cannot be treated causally. This is due to the limited accessibility and sensitive microarchitecture of the vocal folds, which cannot be investigated at a cellular level. Consequently, current pathophysiological knowledge is frequently based on macroscopic findings. The impact of interventions is mainly evaluated endoscopically or via indirect diagnostic methods., Objective: The aim of this article is to discuss state-of-the-art biotechnological methods used in laryngological research, illustrated by practical examples., Results: In recent years, animal and in vitro experiments have significantly contributed to a continuous expansion of knowledge in this field, particularly regarding vocal fold inflammation and scar formation. Vocal fold fibroblasts, the most important cellular component of the lamina propria, can be accredited a central role in these processes., Conclusion: Our knowledge regarding macroanatomy and macropathophysiology of several pathologies has increased considerably in recent years. In vitro trials have shown, e.g., that vocal fold fibroblasts in an inflammatory setting secrete less profibrotic and proinflammatory cytokines when exposed to vibration. Early vocal exercises after surgical interventions on the vocal folds may therefore promote better wound healing and consequently improved phonation. Research in molecular laryngology should create a solid basis of knowledge for subsequent clinical studies., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

High-speed videoendoscopy is an important tool to study laryngeal dynamics, to quantify vocal fold oscillations, to diagnose voice impairments at laryngeal level and to monitor treatment progress. However, there is a significant lack of an open source, expandable research tool that features latest hardware and data analysis. In this work, we propose an open research platform termed OpenHSV that is based on state-of-the-art, commercially available equipment and features a fully automatic data analysis pipeline. A publicly available, user-friendly graphical user interface implemented in Python is used to interface the hardware. Video and audio data are recorded in synchrony and are subsequently fully automatically analyzed. Video segmentation of the glottal area is performed using efficient deep neural networks to derive glottal area waveform and glottal midline. Established quantitative, clinically relevant video and audio parameters were implemented and computed. In a preliminary clinical study, we recorded video and audio data from 28 healthy subjects. Analyzing these data in terms of image quality and derived quantitative parameters, we show the applicability, performance and usefulness of OpenHSV. Therefore, OpenHSV provides a valid, standardized access to high-speed videoendoscopy data acquisition and analysis for voice scientists, highlighting its use as a valuable research tool in understanding voice physiology. We envision that OpenHSV serves as basis for the next generation of clinical HSV systems.

Objectives/hypothesis: Vertical locations of vocal fold mucosal lesions (VFMLs) vary along the free edge. As the vertical contact area of vocal folds (VFs) depends on the vocal register, lesions may occur in the contact area of more frequently used vocal registers. This study investigated the cause of location variations by comparing the vertical sites of VFMLs in singers of both sexes with different music genres., Study Design: Retrospective review., Methods: Sixty professional classical and rock singers (11 male classical [M-classical], 22 male rock [M-rock], 13 female classical [F-classical], and 14 female rock [F-rock] singers) who underwent microlaryngeal surgery for VF polyps and nodules and their 108 lesions were enrolled. The VF free edge was vertically divided into three equal parts and classified into the following four lesion sites: upper, middle, lower, and multiple sites., Results: Upper lesions were most common among F-classical singers (73.9%), whereas lower lesions were most common among M-classical (90.0%) and M-rock (60.6%) singers. Among lesions localized to a single site, lower lesions were most common among F-rock singers (37.0%). F-classical singers had significantly more upper lesions than the other groups (P < .001). M-classical singers had significantly more lower lesions than female singers of any genre (P < .001)., Conclusion: Upper lesions were most common among F-classical singers who mostly used the head voice. Lower lesions were most common among singers who mainly used the modal voice. This study suggests that sex, the dominant vocal register used for singing, and mechanical stress on VFs influence the vertical site of VFMLs., Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E2284-E2291, 2021., (© 2021 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)