Causal association between COVID-19 infection and irritable larynx syndrome

WorkSafeBC Evidence-Based Practice Group, Martin CW
Record ID 32018005172
English
Authors' objectives: To determine if there is a (causal) association in the development of irritable larynx syndrome post SARS-Cov-2 infection.
Authors' results and conclusions: Three studies were identified and retrieved in full for further appraisal. We learned that irritable larynx syndrome (ILS) has been recognized for many years in different forms and is defined by hyper functional laryngeal symptoms. ILS also includes inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO). In many patients, the primary trigger associated with laryngeal symptoms originates in the workplace. It is recognized that the workplace is important in ILS both as a cause and exacerbating factor. The common clinical features of ILS are that of globus pharyngeus (the sensation of a lump in the throat), dysphonia, dyspnea, chronic cough, wheeze, and symptoms of ILO. ILO is characterized by acute onset of dyspnea, inspiratory difficulty, the feeling of choking, and the sensation of obstruction at the level of the throat; these symptoms are often of short duration and self-limited. The two studies by Dziewas et al and Shah et al did not provide any data on the potential development of ILS post Sars-Cov-2 infection.
Authors' methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on commercial medical literature databases on May 16, 2023. In identifying literature on COVID-19, we adopted the COVID-19 search strings that were developed by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH) (available here https://covid.cadth.ca/literature-searching-tools/cadth-covid-19-searchstrings/# covid-19-medline). No limitation, such as on the language or country of publication, was implemented in this literature search. A manual search was also conducted on the references of the articles that were retrieved in full.
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2023
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Mini HTA
Country: Canada
MeSH Terms
  • Larynx
  • Laryngitis
  • COVID-19
  • Coronavirus Infections
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
Keywords
  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • coronavirus
  • long COVID
  • Wuhan
  • Hubei
  • irritable larynx syndrome
  • laryngeal dysfunction
Contact
Organisation Name: WorkSafeBC
Contact Address: 6591 Westminster Highway, Richmond, BC, V7C 1C6 Canada. Tel: 604-231-8417; Fax: 604-279-7698
Contact Name: ebpg@worksafebc.com
Contact Email: ebpg@worksafebc.com
Copyright: WorkSafe BC
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