title: Etiologies of Dysphonia in Patients Referred to ENT Clinics Based on Videolaryngoscopy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Laryngeal dysfunction may be divided into three categories; organic, neurologic and functional disorders. Dysphonia and hoarseness are the most common symptoms and, in some cases, the only signs of laryngeal dysfunction. In differential diagnosis of any type of chronic hoarseness, a neoplastic process must be considered and, thus continuous light video laryngoscopy can provide important information on the presence of neoplastic lesions in order to prevent disease progression via early detection and action.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 197 patients with voice disorders admitted to Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital for video laryngoscopy. Available sampling was used and the results achieved were analyzed using SPSS17 statistical software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 197 patients (mean age, 40.72 ±15.17 years) participated in this study, 56.9% of whom were male. From analysis of video laryngoscopy, organic dysphonia was found to be the most common cause of voice disorders, while functional and neurologic dysphonia were observed in 8.6% and 5.6% of patients, respectively. Vocal nodules and Reinke's edema were among the most common causes of organic dysphonia, with a frequency of 24.4% and 23.4%, respectively; while laryngeal carcinoma accounted for 2.5% of all diagnosed cases with organic causes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since the presence of voice disorders for more than 3 weeks can be a sign of laryngeal dysfunction, early diagnosis using noninvasive methods such as video laryngoscopy and appropriate medical measures can help prevent the disease progression and eliminate the need for actions such as laryngectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Babol University of Medicine Sciences, Mazandaran, Iran.
authors.forename: Keyvan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiakojoury
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech Therapy, Babol University of Medicine Sciences, Mazandaran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehghan
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Babol University of Medicine Sciences, Mazandaran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fateme
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hajizade
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Biostatician, Babol University of Medicine Sciences, Mazandaran, Iran.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khafri
keywords: Dysphonia; Hoarseness; laryngeal neoplasm.; laryngeal video endoscopy (video laryngoscopy)