New research finds that Covid-19 infection can lead to paralysis of the vocal cords in teens

Digital Desk: In a new study, researchers disclose the first teen case of vocal cord paralysis caused by COVID-19 infection.

The paralysis, according to the physician-researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital in the US, was probably a side effect of the viral infection and could be another one of the "well-established" nervous system-related or neuropathic complications that have been seen in both adults and children."

The patient, a female 15-year-old who was normally in good health, was brought to the emergency room 13 days after being diagnosed with acute onset shortness of breath due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, as the researchers detailed in their publication in the journal Paediatrics. She had a past filled with worry and asthma.

Bilateral vocal cord paralysis, defined as the immobility of both vocal cords located in the voice box, or "larynx," was discovered during an endoscopic examination, according to the researchers.

However, according to the first author Danielle Reny Larrow, a resident in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, stated that "this newly recognised potential complication should be considered in any child presenting with a breathing, talking, or swallowing complaint after a recent Covid-19 diagnosis, considering how common this virus is among children."

According to the researchers, the patient underwent a comprehensive battery of diagnostic tests in the hospital. These tests included blood work, imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and consultations with specialists in otolaryngology, neurology, psychiatry, speech-language pathology, and neurosurgery.

The doctors conducted a tracheostomy, a surgically produced opening in the windpipe, to relieve the patient's breathing difficulties after speech therapy failed to alleviate the patient's symptoms.

The fact that she continued to require a tracheostomy more than 13 months after starting treatment raises the possibility that this kind of nerve issue is not just transient.

They said that after submitting a case report, they were able to remove it fifteen months after it was first inserted.

Though several adults have reported this problem as a result of COVID-19 infection, the scientists described it as "highly unusual" and stated this was the first report of a teen experiencing post-viral neuropathy, which is known to induce vocal cord paralysis.

"It's important for the paediatric community to be conscious of the fact that kids can actually have long-term neurotrophic effects from COVID-19 to be able to treat our kids well," asserted senior author Christopher Hartnick, director of the Division of Paediatric Otolaryngology and the Paediatric Airway, Voice, and Swallowing Centre at Massachusetts Eye and Ear.