Prevalence of Dysphonia due to COVID-19 Infection

Background: A voice problem known as dysphonia has been identified as a potential adverse effect of COVID-19 infection.Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of dysphonia in COVID-19 patients and the impact of his/her voice disorder upon daily activities using the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-30).Patients and methods: This prospective study was conducted on a cohort of 231 COVID-19 patients selected from the Otorhinolaryngology Department, Benha University Hospital.Patient evaluation included comprehensive history taking, physical and local examinations, laboratory investigation, voice assessments using (VHI-30), auditory perceptual analysis and local laryngeal examination by indirect rigid laryngoscopy.Results: Among the enrolled patients, 46.8% were males and 53.2% were females, with a mean age of 48.73 ± 11.58 years.The most prevalent symptoms reported were fever (93.5%), exhaustion (83.1%), and cough (76.2%).Dysphonia was found in 37.6% of the patients, with 58.6% experiencing mild dysphonia, 28.7% moderate dysphonia, and 12.6% severe dysphonia.The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) scores, which mean that physical VHI was 18.82 ± 4.69, mean functional VHI was 17.42 ± 3.73, and mean emotional VHI was 14.97 ± 4.67.While mean total VHI was 36.02 ± 13.62 and the result explained the positive relation between total mean VHI score and grade of dysphonia.The mild grade was total mean 25.49 ± 5.11, moderate grade was total mean 42.56 ± 5.3 and severe grade was total mean 61.54 ± 8.16.Our findings showed that the more severe the COVID-19 infection, the higher the scores of total VHI-30.Laryngoscope findings revealed laryngeal mucosa congestion and edema as the most common finding (35.5%), followed by early starting nodules (20.8%), vocal fold immobility (1%), Vocal fold polyp (haemorrhagic polyp) (1%) and normal laryngeal mucosa (42%).The most prevalent cause of dysphonia is organic lesion (22.8%) followed by nonorganic (functional) (15.5%). Conclusion:Our study revealed a considerable prevalence of dysphonia among COVID-19 patients in Benha University Hospitals.The VHI scores indicated the negative impact of dysphonia on physical, functional, and emotional aspects of patients' lives.