Ultrasonography of the larynx for diagnosis of the vocal folds mobility impairment

Purpose. To study a possibility of performance and diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography (US) of a larynx in identification of motility disorders of VF (vocal folds) in comparison with the laryngoscope which is traditionally applied for this purpose.

Materials and methods. According to the objectives of the study, two patient groups were formed. In first group of patients (n = 466) we studied acceptability of ultrasonografy to discriminate various laryngeal structures. In second group of patient (n = 432) we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in point of detection of vocal muscles paresis.

Results. Laryngeal structures were available to examination by ultrasound (without taking in account age and sex) in 92.7% of patients. Two patterns have been identified in the course of this part of the study: deterioration of visibility of the vocal folds with increasing patient age and better visibility of the vocal folds in women than in men. According to the comparative analysis, ultrasonography accuracy rate (in those patients who had had clearly visible vocal folds during ultrasonography) did not differ from that during videolaryngoscopy.

Conclusion. During the conducted research it was found that the US of the larynx is an effective and perspective method for detection of a paresis of VF with sensitivity and specificity 93,55% and 100% respectively. Among those patients who' VF are available to ultrasound evaluation the accuracy of method is comparable with a videolaryngoscopy and can be used with success in daily work of units of endocrine surgery.

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