Prospective study to assess vocal cord palsy investigations.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the investigation and clinical outcome of patients presenting with unexplained vocal cord palsy (VCP).

STUDY DESIGN AND

METHODS

A prospective cohort study designed to evaluate 86 patients with unexplained VCP presenting to our tertiary referral center.

RESULTS

Twenty-four (36%) patients had positive findings on CT scanning. Twenty-one (24%) cases showed mediastinal adenopathy +/- pulmonary mass. The other three cases were a thoracic aneurysm, prostatic metastasis below the skull base, and a postcricoid tumor. Follow-up period was 18 to 66 months. Fifteen (24%) of the 62 patients with negative radiology recovered full vocal cord movement.

CONCLUSION

CT neck +/- chest plays an important role in the evaluation of VCP patients. The majority of pertinent radiologic findings involve malignant neoplasm.