Clinical characteristics of 1330 elderly patients with voice diseases diagnosed by electronic laryngoscope

Abstract

Objective:To investigate the clinical features of electronic laryngoscope in the diagnosis of senile voice diseases. Methods:Elderly patients who visited the outpatient department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from September 2014 to September 2018 were collected. All patients came in with hoarseness. All patients were routinely diagnosed by electronic laryngoscopy and the results were analyzed. Results:A total of 1330 elderly patients aged 60 years and over were enrolled in this study, including 924 males and 406 females. There are significant differences in the distribution of various voice diseases in different genders（P<0.05）. Among male elderly patients, the top three were: 239 cases of throat malignant tumor（25.87%）, 182 cases of vocal cord benign proliferative disease（19.70%）, 147 cases of vocal cord leukoplakia（15.91%）. Among female elderly patients, the top three diseases were: 183 cases（45.07%） of vocal cord benign proliferative disease, 70 cases（17.24%） of laryngitis, 66 cases（16.26%） of vocal cord paralysis. There were significant differences in the distribution of different voice disorders among the three different age groups of elderly patients. The top three elderly patients aged 60-69 years were: 298 cases（35.06%） of vocal cord benign proliferative diseases, 132 cases（15.53%） of laryngopharyngeal malignant tumors, 104 cases（12.24%） of vocal cord paralysis. The top three elderly patients aged 70-79 years were: 91 cases（24.20%） of laryngopharyngeal malignant tumors, 57 cases（15.16%） of vocal cord benign proliferative diseases, 55 cases（14.63%） of vocal cord paralysis. The top three elderly patients aged 80 years and above were: 25 cases（24.04%） of laryngopharyngeal malignant tumors, 21 cases（20.19%） of vocal cord paralysis, 16 cases（15.38%） of the vocal cords are not closed completely. There were also significant differences in the distribution of various voice diseases among smokers（P<0.05）. Conclusion:With the acceleration of the aging of society, we should pay more attention to the voice of the elderly. The most common disease in elderly women with hoarseness is benign hyperplastic vocal cord disease. The high incidence of laryngeal malignant tumors in elderly male hoarseness patients who smoke should be paid special attention to. Electronic laryngoscope plays an important role in the diagnosis of voice diseases in elderly patients.