Role of steroids injection in treatment of minimal associated pathological lesions

Abstract

Objectives This review aims to determine the effectiveness of glucocorticoids local intralesional injection in the treatment of minimal associated pathological lesions and counter its adverse effects and possible complications Data sources Medline databases (PubMed, laryngoscope, Arch Otoloaryngol Head Neck Surg, Journal of Voice) using the terms 'Steroid' or 'Dexamethasone' with the word 'Vocal fold' as a search criteria. Resulting materials are available in the internet from 1983 to 2017. Study selection This search presented 40 articles. The researches that met the inclusion criteria were six articles. The articles studied the Steroids Injection in Treatment of Vocal Folds Lesions. Data extraction If the studies did not fulfill the inclusion criteria, they were excluded. Study quality assessment included whether ethical approval was gained, eligibility criteria specified, appropriate controls used, adequate information collected, and assessment measures defined. Data synthesis Significant data were collected. It was heterogeneous. Thus, a structured review was performed with the results tabulated. Conclusion Treatment for minimal associated pathological lesions generally initiates with the behavioral modification of phonation habits. When conservative managements fail, laryngeal microsurgery might represent the only available treatment option. However, potential adverse effects following the laryngeal suspension include injury to the teeth or cervical spine or tongue paresthesia. Besides, violation of the layered structure of the vocal fold during surgery can also result in fibrosis of the lamina propria. Vocal fold steroid injection might provide an alternative treatment option for benign lesions of the vocal folds.