A Preliminary Report on Treatment of Contact Granuloma With Steroid Injections

Abstract

This preliminary report discusses the effects of intralesion local steroid injection for treatment of contact granulomas. Four men between the ages of 39 and 59 years and one woman age 33 years, who were diagnosed with contact granulomas and who failed previous management attempts, are discussed. Intralesion steroid injections of triamcinolone were completed in an otolaryngology outpatient clinic. Results showed that the size of contact granulomas was reduced with injection of the steroid in all five patients. Contact granuloma was completely eliminated in one patient. Furthermore, all patients were clinically asymptomatic 3 to 4 months post-injection, although only two of the five granulomas were totally eliminated at the time of long-term follow-up. Clinical improvement was confirmed by direct laryngoscopic evaluation of contact granuloma size 4 months following completion of the steroid injections. A speech-language pathologist's knowledge of this technique may prevent patients with granuloma from enduring protracted voice treatment that is historically less effective. The speech-language pathologist's responsibilities include determining patient candidacy for intralesion steroid injection, assisting the otolaryngologist with endoscopic interpretation of the lesion pre- and post-intervention, and tracking the clinical outcome of the procedure.