EVALUATION OF ETIOPATHOLOGY FOR
HOARSENESS OF VOICE –A CLINICAL STUDY
ABSTRACT Hoarseness of voice is one of the commonest symptoms found in ENT clinics. The present study is to assess etiopathology of hoarseness of voice at our center. The diagnostic potential of laryngeal endoscopy for different laryngeal lesions and its correlation with histopathology is also done. In this retrospective study 126 patients were included. The commonest etiology for hoarseness of voice was found to be chronic laryngitis (51.6%) followed by malignancy (27.8%) and vocal cord paralysis (15.1%). Vocal abuse (33.3%) and smoking (29.4%) were found to be leading predisposing factors. Positive predictive value of laryngeal endoscopy for detecting malignant lesions was found to be 86.5%. Fibreoptic laryngoscopy is a good tool for preliminary evaluation of hoarseness of voice. However, direct laryngoscopy should not be delayed if a diagnosis cannot be made by fibreoptic laryngoscopy KEYWORDS Hoarseness, Laryngeal endoscopy, Voice, Etiolopathology