title: Percutaneous corticosteroid injection for vocal fold polyp.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of percutaneous corticosteroid injection in patients with vocal fold polyp and to describe its advantages and limitations in this group of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four patients with vocal fold polyp treated between March 1 and December 31, 2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  Percutaneous corticosteroid injection performed with the patient under topical anesthesia. Stroboscopic examination was carried out to evaluate the postoperative response.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Grade of the Severity of Dysphonia, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenicity, and Strain (GRBAS) scale and the Voice Handicap Index were used for subjective assessments. Phonatory results including maximum phonation time, mean flow rate, jitter, shimmer, and noise to harmonic ratio were also collected for objective evaluations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The surgery was completed smoothly in 22 of the 24 patients, typically within 20 minutes. No complications were noted. The overall response rate by stroboscopy was 91% (20 of 22 patients) and complete remission rate was 59% (13 of 22). A significant improvement was noted between preoperative and postoperative results on the GRBAS scale (P < .001, P < .001, P = .003, P = .001, and P = .002, respectively, for the 5 measures). Mean Voice Handicap Index (P = .001), maximum phonation time (P = .02), jitter (P = .006), shimmer (P = .001), and noise to harmonic ratio (P = .01) also improved significantly after percutaneous corticosteroid injection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Percutaneous corticosteroid injection can be used to manage vocal fold polyps with low invasiveness and minimal morbidity. It offers a simple and cost-effective alternative to traditional direct microlaryngoscopic procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University, No. 201 Section 2 Shih-Pai Road, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Bin
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Ming-Chin
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Shyue-Yih
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation; D011127:Polyps / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D049489:Stroboscopy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014221:Triamcinolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000473:pathology*; D014833:Voice Quality
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D014221:Triamcinolone