Vocal cord dysfunction diagnosed by four-dimensional dynamic volume computed tomography in patients with difficult-to-treat asthma: A case series.
Patients with asthma may also have vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), which leads to poor control of the asthma. Once patients are diagnosed with difficult-to-treat asthma with poor control, VCD should be excluded or treated accordingly. The gold standard for diagnosis of VCD is to perform a laryngoscopy. However, this procedure is invasive and may not be suitable for patients with difficult-to-treat asthma. Four-dimensional (4D) dynamic volume computed tomography (CT) is a noninvasive method for quantification of laryngeal movement, and can serve as an alternative for the diagnosis of VCD. Herein, we present a series of five cases with difficult-to-treat asthma patients who were diagnosed with VCD by 4D dynamic volume CT. Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of VCD when poor control is noted in patients with asthma. Early diagnosis by noninvasive 4D dynamic volume CT can decrease excessive doses of inhaled corticosteroids.
Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Wei-Tso
WT
Cheng
Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Huan-Wen
HW
Chen
Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
I-Hao
IH
Su
Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Nephrology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Ji-Tseng
JT
Fang
Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Han-Pin
HP
Kuo
Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: cdhuang@adm.cgmh.org.tw.
Chien-Da
CD
Huang
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D054893:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; D005260:Female; D056973:Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064706:Vocal Cord Dysfunction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones
difficult-to-treat asthma; four-dimensional dynamic volume computed tomography; vocal cord dysfunction