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One Hundred Case Series of Vocal Cord Dysfunction in a Military Treatment Facility

The authors’ evaluation of vocal cord dysfunction cases reveals that prevalence may be higher than previously reported in the literature.
Federal Practitioner. 2017 March;34(3):28-33
March 14, 2017|Federal Practitioner
Clifford Nolt, MD;Michael Ott, MD;Ryann Ennis, MA, CCC-SLP;Jose Roman, MD
Author and Disclosure Information

Dr. Nolt is a family physician at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. Ms. Ennis is a speech language pathologist, and Dr. Ott and Dr. Roman are pulmonologists, all at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Dr. Ott is an assistant professor of medicine at F. Edward Herbert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Author disclosures
The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the U.S. Government, or any of its agencies. This article may discuss unlabeled or investigational use of certain drugs. Please review the complete prescribing information for specific drugs or drug combinations—including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects—before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.

Conclusion

Vocal cord dysfunction remains a difficult diagnosis to treat, because multiple comorbidities likely contribute to the diagnosis. This retrospective case series attempted to compile common themes and noted that most of the patients had 2 or more risk factors of smoking, allergic rhinitis, GERD, or mental health diagnoses. A prospective trial would be ideal to evaluate VCD further. A focused trial in the particular communities of athletes or of military service members may be of increased benefit to better define VCD. It is notable that 100 cases were found in a relatively short period for a community hospital, and prevalence may be higher than previously reported.

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