Tuberculosis in larynx

• Main Authors: Sunil Grover, Tejveer Singh, Keerat Kaur Sibia, Vanita Sarin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2019-01-01
• Series: Indian Journal of Respiratory Care
• Subjects: Bronchoscopy; hoarseness; laryngeal tuberculosis; odynophagia; vocal cords
• Online Access: http://www.ijrconline.org/article.asp?issn=2277-9019;year=2019;volume=8;issue=1;spage=51;epage=56;aulast=Grover

Introduction: Laryngeal tuberculosis (TB) has shown increase in incidence in recent years and the increase in immunosuppressive conditions has altered the clinical profile of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changing trends of laryngeal TB and to highlight its site of involvement, type of lesion, and degree of involvement. Patients and Methods: This prospective study included 54 patients with a diagnosis of laryngeal TB. All patients were evaluated in terms of their age, chief complaints, lesions, and site of involvement on flexible fiber-optic bronchoscopy, and they also underwent a variety of laboratory investigations as indicated. Results: The study showed that true vocal cords + false cords + epiglottis were involved in 48.1% (n = 26), arytenoids + interarytenoid + posterior part of true cords in 24.1% (n = 13), true cords + false cords + arytenoids + interarytenoid in 18.5% (n = 10), true vocal cords alone in 5.5% (n = 3), interarytenoid in 1.8% (n = 1), and interarytenoid + arytenoid involvement was seen in 1.8% (n = 1) of patients. These lesions were categorized into four different appearances as follows: granulomatous lesions in 50% (n = 27), ulcerative lesions in 27.7% (n = 15), hyperemia and hypertrophic in 16.7% (n = 9), and papillomatous mass in 5.6% (n = 3) based on fiber-optic bronchoscopy. Conclusion: In this study, the disease was most rampant in the age group of 31–60 years, with a predilection seen in low socioeconomic groups, rural groups and in individuals addicted to smoling and alcoholism. Hoarseness and odynophagia are the major symptoms. Multiple subsites are involved, and the lesions show a predilection for the anterior part of the vocal cord.