Vol.96 No.8 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 96 No.8 August 2003
Two Cases of Laryngeal Palsy Caused by Varicella-Zoster Virus
Takuma Sekita
(JA Kochi Hospital)
Junji Koda, Kazunori Sekine, Jiro Udaka, Naoya Takeda,
Katsuhiko Nakamura and Noriaki Takeda
(The University of Tokushima)
Hironori Masuda
(Yashima General Hospital)
We report two cases of vocal fold paralysis due to varicella-zoster virus infection. Both patients complained of otalgia and hoarseness and the serum antibody titers for varicella-zoster virus were significantly elevated. Neither patient showed facial palsy, and laryngeal electromyography showed reduced recruitment patterns in cricothyroid muscles and thyroarytenoid muscles on the affected side. These findings indicated the paralysis of the vagus nerve, but not the recurrence nerve. Acyclovir was administrated in both cases and the patients recovered from vocal fold paralysis within 3 months.
Key words : varicella-zoster virus, vocal fold paralysis, laryngeal electromyography