Although the most common neuro-otolaryngological findings associated with COVID-19 infection are chemosensory changes, it should be known that these patients may present with different clinical findings. We present a 57-year-old woman who developed progressive hoarseness while suffering from COVID-19 infection without a history of chronic disease or any other etiological cause. Laryngeal fiberscopy revealed left vocal cord fixed at the cadaveric position and there was a 5-6-mm intraglottic gap during phonation. No other etiological causes were found in the examinations performed with detailed ear-nose-throat examination, neurological evaluations, and imaging methods. Injection laryngoplasty was applied to the patient, and voice therapy was initiated, resulting in significant improvement in voice quality. The mechanism of the idiopathic vocal cord paralysis remains unclear; it is suspected to be related to COVID-19 neuropathy, because the patient had no pre-existing vascular risk factors or evidence of other neurologic diseases on neuroimaging. Laryngeal nerve palsies may represent part of the neurologic spectrum of COVID-19. When voice changes occur in patients during COVID 19 infection, the possibility of vocal cord paralysis due to peripheral nerve damage caused by the SARS-CoV-2 should be considered.
Keywords: COVID-19; Complication; Recurrent nerve; Vocal cord paralysis; Voice.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.