COVID-19 was contracted by a young girl who was in excellent health. She soon struggled to breathe because the virus had paralyzed her vocal cords.
She needed to have a tracheostomy — a fancy term for creating an opening below her voice box in the windpipe — for more than a year to keep her breathing on track.
According to a new case report, COVID-19 can disrupt the nervous system and cause vocal cord paralysis in rare cases.
What effect COVID-19 had on the young girl’s vocal cords
Before contracting the virus, the otherwise healthy girl began experiencing symptoms common to COVID-19. She sought medical attention, was concerned about her condition, and was later diagnosed with COVID-19 at Massachusetts General Hospital.
She returned to the hospital’s emergency room nine days later with a new and concerning problem: she had lost all movement in her larynx, a condition known as bilateral vocal cord paralysis.
This one-of-a-kind case was published in the medical journal Pediatrics, emphasizing the significance of this distressing complication in adolescents infected with COVID-19.
Dr. Danielle Reny Larrow, a resident at Mass Eye and Ear and the report’s first author, emphasized the importance of taking this newly identified potential complication into account in any child who presents with respiratory, speech, or swallowing difficulties following a recent COVID-19 diagnosis.
Such symptoms could be mistakenly attributed to more common conditions such as asthma, making it critical to carefully monitor and evaluate young patients.
COVID-19’s long-term neurotrophic effects on younger individuals
The young girl underwent a battery of tests to determine the extent of her condition, including blood work and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Unfortunately, speech therapy did not produce positive results, forcing the family to make a difficult decision.
The medical team decided to perform a tracheostomy, which would provide her with an alternate airway. She relied on this artificial means of breathing for the next 15 months.
The unusual nature of this case was expressed by Dr. Christopher Hartnick, senior author of the report and Director of the Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology and Pediatric Airway, Voice, and Swallowing Center at Mass Eye and Ear. The loss of function of an important cranial nerve, especially in a young and healthy person, was an unexpected and perplexing event.
Throughout her ordeal, the adolescent displayed remarkable resilience and determination. She was able to breathe without the tracheostomy device 15 months after the procedure, just in time for her high school graduation and prom.
Dr. Hartnick recalls her resolve, saying she refused to attend her prom with the device implanted. As a result, the medical team stepped in to ensure that her senior prom was tracheostomy-free, allowing her to fully participate in these significant milestones.
COVID-19 induced vocal cord paralysis
While vocal cord paralysis is more commonly seen in adults, usually as a result of COVID-19-induced post-viral neuropathy, this case shows that it can also occur in adolescents. The aforementioned discovery emphasizes the importance of understanding COVID-19’s potential long-term neurotrophic effects on younger individuals.
Dr. Hartnick urges the pediatric community to be aware of these unexpected complications and emphasizes the importance of providing the best care possible to children infected with COVID-19.
This is the first documented case of vocal cord paralysis in a teenager, demonstrating that the virus’s impact can extend beyond its initial manifestation, necessitating ongoing research and vigilance.
This development highlights the critical need for comprehensive approaches to COVID-19 prevention and treatment to protect the health of people of all ages.