Paralysis in vocal cords… New presentation of Coronavirus
In a first-of-its-kind case worldwide, an American teenager experienced paralysis in her vocal cords days after contracting a “COVID-19” infection.
A report on the girl, a 15-year-old from Massachusetts, was published on December 19 in the Pediatrics journal.
The case report suggests that vocal cord paralysis may be one of the rare complications of a coronavirus infection, resulting from the virus’s impact on the nervous system.
Dr. Danielle Laro, from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, stated in a press release: “Given the prevalence of this virus among children, these newly recognized potential complications should be considered in any child with respiratory, speech, or swallowing complaints after a diagnosis of coronavirus.”
She added, “This is particularly important because such complaints can easily be attributed to more common diagnoses like asthma.”
Researchers noted that despite several reports of vocal cord paralysis in adults, this is the first report of complications in teenagers.
The healthy girl arrived at the emergency room of Massachusetts General Hospital with difficulty breathing, nine days after being diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Doctors inserted a flexible tube down her throat and found that her vocal cords in the voice box were paralyzed, concluding that the paralysis was likely a result of the infection, as a comprehensive examination revealed no other apparent cause.
Researchers highlighted that it is known that the coronavirus affects the nervous system in other ways, including headaches, dizziness, brain fog, and changes in smell and taste.
