Upper Airway and Translaryngeal Resistance During Mechanical Insufflation-Exsufflation.

Background: Mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (MI-E) uses positive and negative pressures to assist weak cough and to help clear airway secretions. Laryngeal visualization during MI-E has revealed that inappropriate upper airway responses can impede its efficacy. However, the dynamics of pressure transmission in the upper airways during MI-E are unclear, as are the relationships among anatomic structure, pressure, and airflow.

A speech therapy treatment protocol for exercise induced laryngeal obstruction.

Background: Exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) is a common cause of exertional breathing problems in young individuals, relevant to 5%-7% of young people. It is caused by paradoxical inspiratory adduction of laryngeal structures and diagnosed by continuous visualization of the larynx during high intensity exercise. Empirical data suggest that EILO consists of different subtypes that require different therapeutic approaches.

Reliability of translaryngeal airway resistance measurements during maximal exercise.

Objective: Exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction is an important cause of exertional dyspnoea. The diagnosis rests on visual judgement of relative changes of the laryngeal inlet during continuous laryngoscopy exercise (CLE) tests, but we lack objective measures that reflect functional consequences. We aimed to investigate repeatability and normal values of translaryngeal airway resistance measured at maximal intensity exercise.

Conundrums in the breathless athlete; exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction or asthma?

Purpose: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) are the two disorders commonly considered when athletes complain of exertional dyspnea. They are highly different but often confused. We aimed to address this diagnostic challenge and its consequences in elite athletes.

Clinical responses following inspiratory muscle training in exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction.

Purpose: Exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) is relatively common in young people. Treatment rests on poor evidence; however, inspiratory muscle training (IMT) has been proposed a promising strategy. We aimed to assess laryngeal outcomes shortly after IMT, and to compare self-reported symptoms with a control group 4-6 years later.

An experimental study on intraoperative recovery of recurrent laryngeal nerve function.

Objective: If bilateral thyroid surgery is planned and staged thyroidectomy considered in case of loss of neuromonitoring signal (LOS), a waiting time of 20 minutes is suggested for evaluation of early nerve recovery. This recommendation is based on clinical observations and has not been thoroughly validated experimentally.

Methods: Sixteen pigs were randomly studied, and electromyogram (EMG) was continuously recorded during traction injury until an amplitude decrease of 70% from baseline (BL) (16 nerves) or LOS (16 nerves), and further during 40-minute recovery time.

Long Waiting Times for Elective Hospital Care - Breaking the Vicious Circle by Abandoning Prioritisation.

Background: Policies assigning low-priority patients treatment delays for care, in order to make room for patients of higher priority arriving later, are common in secondary healthcare services today. Alternatively, each new patient could be granted the first available appointment. We aimed to investigate whether prioritisation can be part of the reason why waiting times for care are often long, and to describe how departments can improve their waiting situation by changing away from prioritisation.

Severe Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction Treated With Supraglottoplasty.

Exercise induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO) is relatively common in adolescents, with symptoms often confused with exercise induced asthma. EILO often starts with medial or inward rotation of supraglottic structures of the larynx, whereas glottic adduction appears as a secondary phenomenon in a majority. Therefore, surgical treatment (supraglottoplasty) is used in thoroughly selected and highly motivated patients with pronounced symptoms and severe supraglottic collapse.

Vocal cord function during recurrent laryngeal nerve injury assessed by accelerometry and EMG.

Objective: Gradual impairment of nerve conduction is expected to be tightly associated with simultaneous gradual loss of vocal cord contractility, related to the fact that injured axons are connected to a defined number of muscle cells. In clinical studies, there is a time gap between observed adverse electromyographic (EMG) changes and examination of vocal cord function. This study evaluates the impact of intraoperative EMG changes on synchronous vocal cord contractility by simultaneous use of continuous intraoperative neuromonitoring (C-IONM) and accelerometry for registration of actual vocal cord function at a given change of EMG amplitude.

Feasibility and tolerability of measuring translaryngeal pressure during exercise.

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine if simultaneous tracheal and supraglottic pressure measurement performed during a continuous laryngoscopy exercise (CLE) test is possible, tolerable, and feasible, and if so, whether measurements can be used to determined airflow resistance over the larynx, thus providing an objective outcome measure for the CLE test, the gold standard for diagnosing exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction.

Study Design: Explorative descriptive clinical study.

Methods: A CLE test was performed with the addition of two pressure sensors (Mikro-Cath 825-0101; Millar, Houston, TX) placed at the epiglottic tip and at the fifth tracheal ring.

Acoustic Voice Analysis and Maximum Phonation Time in Relation to Voice Handicap Index Score and Larynx Disease.

Objectives: Patients with voice-related disorders are ideally treated by a multidisciplinary team. Acoustic voice analysis and patient-reported outcome measures are recommended parts of the clinical assessment. The present paper aims at further documenting the importance of acoustic voice analyses, maximum phonation time (MPT) and Voice Handicap Index (VHI) into clinical investigations.

Laryngeal Responses to Mechanically Assisted Cough in Progressing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Background: Respiratory complications represent the major cause of death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Noninvasive respiratory support is the mainstay therapy, but treatment becomes challenging as the disease progresses, possibly due to a malfunctioning larynx, which is the entrance to the airways. We studied laryngeal response patterns to mechanically assisted cough (mechanical insufflation-exsufflation) as ALS progresses.

Surgical Intervention for Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction.

Respiratory distress during exercise can be caused by exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO). The obstruction may appear at the level of the laryngeal inlet (supraglottic), similar to supraglottic collapse observed in infants with congenital laryngomalacia (CLM). This observation has encouraged surgeons to treat supraglottic EILO with procedures proven efficient for severe CLM.

Inducible laryngeal obstruction: an official joint European Respiratory Society and European Laryngological Society statement.

Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) describes an inappropriate, transient, reversible narrowing of the larynx in response to external triggers. ILO is an important cause of a variety of respiratory symptoms and can mimic asthma. Current understanding of ILO has been hampered by imprecise nomenclature and variable approaches to assessment and management.

Health-related Quality of Life as Studied by EORTC QLQ and Voice Handicap Index Among Various Patients With Laryngeal Disease.

Objectives: Patients with voice-related disorders are often treated by a multidisciplinary team including assessment by patient-reported outcome measures. The present paper aims at documenting the importance of including general health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures to clinical investigations.

Study Design: The participants (N = 80 larynx cancer, N = 32 recurrent palsy, N = 23 dysfunctional, N = 75 degenerative/inflammation, N = 19 various) were included consecutively at the laryngology clinic at Haukeland University Hospital.

Laryngeal response patterns influence the efficacy of mechanical assisted cough in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: Most patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are treated with mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (MI-E) in order to improve cough. This method often fails in ALS with bulbar involvement, allegedly due to upper-airway malfunction. We have studied this phenomenon in detail with laryngoscopy to unravel information that could lead to better treatment.

Congenital laryngomalacia is related to exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction in adolescence.

Objectives: Congenital laryngomalacia (CLM) is the major cause of stridor in infants. Most cases are expected to resolve before 2 years of age, but long-term respiratory prospects are poorly described. We aimed to investigate if CLM was associated with altered laryngeal structure or function in later life.

Impact of EMG Changes in Continuous Vagal Nerve Monitoring in High-Risk Endocrine Neck Surgery.

Background: Continuous vagal intraoperative neuromonitoring (CIONM) of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) may reduce the risk of RLN lesions during high-risk endocrine neck surgery such as operation for large goiter potentially requiring transsternal surgery, advanced thyroid cancer, and recurrence.

Methods: Fifty-five consecutive patients (41 female, median age 61 years, 87 nerves at risk) underwent high-risk endocrine neck surgery. CIONM was performed using the commercially available NIM-Response 3.