Abstract

CORREA BARRERA, Juan José et al. Bilateral vocal fold paralysis after COVID-19 infection. Another neuro-invasive manifestation? Case series. Rev. colomb. anestesiol. [online]. 2022, vol.50, n.1, e502.  Epub Jan 18, 2022. ISSN 0120-3347.  https://doi.org/10.5554/22562087.e978.

The agent that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), associated with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2), produces a spectrum of symptoms that mainly affect the respiratory system, the central nervous system (CNS), the regulation of hemostasis and the immune system. Bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVFP) is a condition of unknown incidence among infected patients, either because it is short-lived or because of the difficulty in establishing a direct cause to the virus.

Viral infection has been described in the literature as a cause of BVFP and there is the suspicion that a proportion of the idiopathic cases are due to undiagnosed viral infections. Although the neurotropic mechanisms for SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear, there is strong evidence to ensure its neuroinvasive potential. The most frequent etiologies of BVFP are trauma, neoplasm, and neurological, but a viral origin should not be ruled out. Causality between COVID-19 and BVFP is plausible and will require further study in the short and long term. We present a case series that support and discuss the hypothesis under consideration.

Keywords : Vocal cords bilateral palsy; Neuroinvasion; Neurotropism; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19.

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