Post-intubation vocal cord paralysis: the viral hypothesis. A case report

After digestive surgery, a 20-year-old man presented dysphonia and fever. I ndirect laryngoscopy revealed a left vocal cord paralysis with no structura l lesion. IgM and IgG were positive for cytomegalovirus and negative for hu man immunodeficiency virus, herpes simplex virus, varicella zoster virus an d Epstein-Barr virus. The patient recovered spontaneously with a normal voi ce, and the mobility of vocal cord recovered within 3 months. The aetiology of post-intubation vocal cord paralysis (VCP) remains controversial. Vocal cord paralysis with cytomegalovirus has been reported in two cases associa ted with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Vocal cord paralysis secondary to viral disease has also been described in other circumstances.