The successful treatment of vocal cord dysfunction with low-dose amitriptyline - including literature review

Vocal cord dysfunction is an asthma mimic. Diagnosis of this condition requires a high index of suspicion if unnecessary treatments are to be avoided. We describe the findings from our case series of 62 patients (age range 18 to 90 years) in whom the diagnosis was confirmed. Our findings show low-do...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of asthma and allergy 2009-11, Vol.2, p.105-110
Main Authors: Varney, Va, Parnell, H, Evans, J, Cooke, Nt, Lloyd, J, Bolton, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amitriptyline
Asthma
Diagnosis
Literature reviews
Patients
Review
Vocal organs
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Summary:Vocal cord dysfunction is an asthma mimic. Diagnosis of this condition requires a high index of suspicion if unnecessary treatments are to be avoided. We describe the findings from our case series of 62 patients (age range 18 to 90 years) in whom the diagnosis was confirmed. Our findings show low-dose amitriptyline to be very effective in 90% of cases, with rapid benefit for those patients whose symptoms had been present for less than 12 months. This treatment, in conjunction with psycho-therapeutic and behavioral therapies may reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. Future studies may show whether this treatment regimen may reduce demands on the speech and language therapists.
ISSN:1178-6965
1178-6965
DOI:10.2147/jaa.s6673