Botulinum toxin injection effective against laryngeal contact granuloma: Study

China: In a new study conducted by Yufei Pan and the team, it was shown that injection of thyroarytenoid botulinum toxin is an excellent treatment for refractory laryngeal contact granuloma (LCG). The findings of this study were published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology.

Botulinum toxin is a biological agent that is used to control and treat voice and speech abnormalities. This activity addresses the examination and treatment of various functional laryngeal abnormalities, as well as the role of the interprofessional team in managing patients with this disease utilizing botulinum toxin. Despite the fact that there are several therapies for laryngeal contact granuloma, some individuals do not respond. Toxin botulinum A vocal cord injection might be a life-saving treatment. As a result, this study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of thyroarytenoid botulinum toxin A as a therapy injection for refractory laryngeal contact granuloma.

Between May 2021 and March 2022, 23 male patients with refractory idiopathic laryngeal contact granuloma were treated with botulinum toxin injections into the thyroarytenoid muscle using the thyrohyoid membrane approach. Images of inspiratory-phase laryngoscopy were obtained before and three months after injection therapy. The Farwell granuloma endoscopic grading system and Image J software were used to determine the size of the lesion.

The key findings of this study were as follows:

1. The average age of the 23 cases was 49.

2. Botulinum toxin A injection doses varied from 2.5 to 5 units.

3. Three months after injection, 17 patients were cured, 2 patients improved significantly, and 4 patients had no effect.

4. The overall effectiveness rate was 82.61% (19/23), with no significant problems.

5. Almost all patients had hoarseness within one week of receiving the injection; they progressively recovered after one month, and their voices returned to normal after three months.

In conclusion, this study provides evidence of the efficacy of Botulinum toxin A in laryngeal contact granuloma treatment and it should be used often.

Reference:

Pan, Y., Li, J., Zhang, J., Wang, X., & Jia, Y. (2022). Thyroarytenoid botulinum toxin injection for refractory laryngeal contact granuloma. In American Journal of Otolaryngology (Vol. 43, Issue 4, p. 103482). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjoto.2022.103482