INVASIVE LARYNGEAL CANDIDIASIS - A CAUSE OF STRIDOR IN THE PREVIOUSLYIRRADIATED PATIENT

Upper airway obstruction is always a serious condition. In patients wh o have previously been irradiated for a laryngeal malignancy, it norma lly implies either residual or recurrent disease. We report a case of strider due to invasive laryngeal candidiasis in a patient who had und ergone radiotherapy for a T-1a N-0 squamous cell carcinoma of the glot tis eight months earlier. Extensive investigation failed to identify r ecurrence of disease and the patient responded to prolonged topical an tifungal therapy. Infection with Candida species is most frequently fo und in debilitated or immunocompromised patients. Although cases of up per airway obstruction in children secondary to idiopathic laryngeal c andidiasis have been reported, to our knowledge no such presentation h as been described in adults. This report highlights the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment. Familiarity with candidal infection is import ant for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.