A Prospective Study of Clinicopathological Evaluation of the patients with Hoarseness of Voice

Introduction: Human voice is an exceptional gift, and in a world of complex environments, it is almost impossible to think of a life without communication. The human voice is not only used for dialogue but to express various thoughts and emotions. Various aspect of human voice includes crying, singing, and expression. Hoarseness is the term used to describe a change in normal voice quality.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the ENT OPD of Maheshwara Medical College and hospital, Hyderabad, from January 2020 to December 2020. A total of 252 patients presenting with Hoarseness of voice were included in the study irrespective of their age, sex, and duration of disease. A thorough history, clinical, and ENT examination were made. Vocal professionals were classified into four levels according to Kaufmann and Isaacson's classification. Results: A total of 151 cases with a male: female ratio of 1.68:1 were analyzed. Patients' age ranged from 13 to 82 years, with the majority of patients presenting in the 4th decade. Most commonly, Hoarseness was seen in laborers (42.06%), with the most common cause being vocal cord paralysis (23.01%) and the majority of patients having smoking as the commonest predisposing factor (65%).Conclusion: The etiology of Hoarseness varies from trivial infections to serious malignancies. In our tertiary center, which is at the outskirts of the city majority of the patients coming to OPD are from rural areas, and most of these patients are laborers by occupation and have a habit of a smoking bid is