Laryngeal lesions in Ibadan, Nigeria

Background: There are few reports in the literature on the incidence of laryngeal lesions findings at direct laryngoscopy in our environment. The aim of this paper was to present the laryngeal lesions found at direct laryngoscopies done in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria over a ten-year period. Methodology: A retrospective study of patients who had direct laryngoscopy in the Ear, Nose and Throat Department of the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria between January 1995 and December 2004 was done. All direct laryngoscopies were done under general anaesthesia and the larynx examined using Negus laryngoscopes. Some of the findings at direct laryngoscopies were corroborated with biopsies and histological diagnosis. Results: There were 101 patients. 23 (22.8%) of the patients were children while 78 (77.2%) were adults, giving childern: Adults ratio of 1: 3.4. In the paediatric population, there were 14 (60.9%) males and 9 (39.1%) females, while in the adults, 63 (80.8%) were males, while 15 (19.2%) were females making the male: female ratios 1.6: 1 and 4.2: 1 respectively. The main pathologies seen in the larynx of children in this study were laryngeal papillomatosis 17(51.5%), acute laryngitis 7(21.2%), laryngeal foreign body 4(12.1%) and laryngeal stenosis 4(12.1%). In the adult population in this study, the major findings at direct laryngoscopy were laryngeal tumours 43(53.1%), laryngeal stenosis 9(11.1%), and vocal cord nodules 7(8.6%). The laryngeal tumours were confirmed histologically to be carcinomas in 36(44.4%), dysplasias 3 (3.7%), papillomas 2 (2.5%) and sarcomas in 2 (2.5%) cases. Conclusion: In conclusion, the four most prevalent conditions diagnosed at direct laryngoscopy in children in this study were laryngeal papillomatosis, acute laryngitis, laryngeal foreign bodies, and laryngeal stenosis, while in the adults, laryngeal carcinomas, laryngeal stenosis, and vocal cord nodules constituted the major findings. Nigerian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 3(1) 2006: 1-