Indications and Short-Term Outcomes for In-Office Therapeutic Superior Laryngeal Nerve Block

Objective: Superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) block consists of injection of steroid and anesthetic at the internal branch of the SLN entry site. Prior case series have demonstrated beneficial effects on neurogenic cough. SLN blocks have also recently shown benefit for paralaryngeal pain. We describe sh...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology rhinology & laryngology, 2024-02, Vol.133 (2), p.174-180
Main Authors: Gray, Alan J., Hoffman, Matthew R., Yang, Zao M., Vandiver, Beau, Purvis, Joshua, Morgan, Jake P., Hapner, Edie R., Dominguez, Laura, Tibbetts, Kathleen, Simpson, C. Blake
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Airway Obstruction
Cough - etiology
Cough - therapy
Dysphonia - diagnosis
Dysphonia - etiology
Dysphonia - therapy
Female
Humans
Laryngeal Diseases
Laryngeal Nerves
Larynx
Male
Middle Aged
Original
Pain
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: Superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) block consists of injection of steroid and anesthetic at the internal branch of the SLN entry site. Prior case series have demonstrated beneficial effects on neurogenic cough. SLN blocks have also recently shown benefit for paralaryngeal pain. We describe short-term outcomes for multiple symptoms of irritable larynx syndrome (ILS) including neurogenic cough, dysphonia related to laryngeal hypersensitivity, inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO), paralaryngeal pain, and isolated globus. Methods: Retrospective review from 2 institutions of patients undergoing a single SLN block for the indications listed. Variables include age, sex, indication(s), known vagus neuropathy, and patient-reported outcomes at short-term follow-up. Results: A total of 209 patients were included (59 males, 150 females; age: 58 ± 13 years). Twenty-six patients (12%) had a history of a vagus nerve injury. Indications included neurogenic cough (n = 149), dysphonia related to laryngeal hypersensitivity (n = 66), paralaryngeal pain (n = 50), ILO (n = 23), and isolated globus (n = 3). Some patients had multiple indications. Significant improvements in patient-reported measures occurred after a single SLN block within 2 to 4 weeks for neurogenic cough (cough severity index; 25.2 ± 11.2 to 19.0 ± 12.8; P 
ISSN:0003-4894
1943-572X
DOI:10.1177/00034894231194384