• Karina Gritsenko, Victor Polshin, Priya Agrawal, Singh Nair, Naum Shaparin, Konrad Gruson, and Melin Tan-Geller.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, Montefiore Medical Center, 1250 Waters Pl, Tower II, 8th Floor, Bronx, 10461, NY, USA.
• Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2019 Dec 1; 33 (4): 553-558.

BackgroundInterscalene brachial plexus block (IBPB) has become a standard practice for perioperative analgesia for shoulder procedures. However, several side effects may occur owing to its anatomic location. We have chosen to evaluate vocal cord paresis and dysphonia following interscalene blocks.MethodsAfter IRB approval, eight patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder procedures were recruited into this prospective cohort study. Following informed consent, vocal cords were assessed by standardized fiberoptic evaluation. Subsequently, IBPB was performed under ultrasound (US) guidance. Patients were re-evaluated for vocal cord changes by a repeat fiberoptic assessment one hour following IBPB. Our primary outcome measure was incidence of vocal cord immobility.ResultsNo patients had diminished vocal cord motion, dysphonia, or dysphagia.ConclusionsAlthough larger studies are required to determine the true incidence of vocal cord paresis following US-guided IBPB, our results suggest that incidence of unwanted nerve blockade other than brachial plexus is much lower than that previously described.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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