• Yen-Bin Hsu, Ming-Chin Lan, and Shyue-Yih Chang.
• Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University, No. 201 Section 2 Shih-Pai Road, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
• Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 2009 Aug 1; 135 (8): 776-80.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of percutaneous corticosteroid injection in patients with vocal fold polyp and to describe its advantages and limitations in this group of patients.DesignProspective case series.SettingTertiary care teaching hospital.PatientsTwenty-four patients with vocal fold polyp treated between March 1 and December 31, 2007.InterventionsPercutaneous corticosteroid injection performed with the patient under topical anesthesia. Stroboscopic examination was carried out to evaluate the postoperative response.Main Outcome MeasuresThe Grade of the Severity of Dysphonia, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenicity, and Strain (GRBAS) scale and the Voice Handicap Index were used for subjective assessments. Phonatory results including maximum phonation time, mean flow rate, jitter, shimmer, and noise to harmonic ratio were also collected for objective evaluations.ResultsThe surgery was completed smoothly in 22 of the 24 patients, typically within 20 minutes. No complications were noted. The overall response rate by stroboscopy was 91% (20 of 22 patients) and complete remission rate was 59% (13 of 22). A significant improvement was noted between preoperative and postoperative results on the GRBAS scale (P < .001, P < .001, P = .003, P = .001, and P = .002, respectively, for the 5 measures). Mean Voice Handicap Index (P = .001), maximum phonation time (P = .02), jitter (P = .006), shimmer (P = .001), and noise to harmonic ratio (P = .01) also improved significantly after percutaneous corticosteroid injection.ConclusionsPercutaneous corticosteroid injection can be used to manage vocal fold polyps with low invasiveness and minimal morbidity. It offers a simple and cost-effective alternative to traditional direct microlaryngoscopic procedures.

24 keywords...

hide…