https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2022.10483
A case of vocal cord dysfunction in the emergency department
Submitted: 27 March 2022
Accepted: 18 May 2022
Published: 27 June 2022
Accepted: 18 May 2022
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
We describe the case of a 78-year-old woman admitted to our emergency department for an acute onset of severe dyspnoea with inspiratory wheezing-like sounds. She denied fever, cough, voice change and pain. She referred a similar but less severe episode occurred spontaneously one year before, with complete resolution in few minutes without sequelae. On examination upper airway obstruction was firstly excluded. She was initially treated as having asthma, without response. Parenteral high dose corticosteroids and antihistamines provided no benefit. Point-of-care-ultrasound resulted normal. Flexible laryngoscopy during the episode showed paradoxical vocal cord movement with adduction during both inspiration and expiration. This demonstrated that her dyspnoea was from Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD). VCD completely solved after administration of intravenous benzodiazepines.
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How to Cite
Poggiali, E., Di Trapani, G., Agosti, A., Caiazza, C., Manicardi, A., Zanzani, C., Vollaro, S., & Vercelli, A. (2022). A case of vocal cord dysfunction in the emergency department. Emergency Care Journal, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2022.10483
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