Laryngitis
Basics
Description
Description
- Inflammation of the mucosa of the larynx
- The most common cause is viral upper respiratory infection
- Also can be caused by phonotrauma (vocal abuse/misuse)
- Coughing/throat clearing
- Excessive speaking during a URI
- Screaming or yelling
- Excessive talking
- Talking in noisy environments
- Smoking
- Peaks parallel epidemics of individual viruses
- Most common during late fall, winter, early spring
Etiology
Etiology
- Viral upper respiratory infections most common in acute laryngitis:
- Influenza A and B
- Rhinovirus
- Parainfluenza types 1 and 2
- Adenovirus
- Less common (or in immunocompromised):
- Coxsackievirus, RSV, HSV, HIV, etc.
- Bacterial infections:
- β-Hemolytic streptococcus
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Haemophilus influenzae (HiB)
- Moraxella catarrhalis
- Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA)
- Less common: Pertussis, diphtheria, TB, syphilis, leprosy
- Phonotrauma (Voice abuse or misuse)
- Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (especially in adults)
- Fungal infections (often associated with inhaled steroid use or immunocompromised)
- Allergic
- Inhalation or ingestion of caustic substances or other irritants
- Autoimmune (rheumatoid arthritis, relapsing polychondritis, Wegener granulomatosis, or sarcoidosis)
- Trauma
- Idiopathic
Pediatric Considerations
- Acute spasmodic laryngitis (spasmodic croup)
- More likely to be infectious
- Consider HiB, diphtheria, etc., if not immunized
- Consider foreign body
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Citation
Schaider, Jeffrey J., et al., editors. "Laryngitis." 5-Minute Emergency Consult, 6th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2020. Emergency Central, emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307535/all/Laryngitis.
Laryngitis. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, et al, eds. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307535/all/Laryngitis. Accessed October 7, 2024.
Laryngitis. (2020). In Schaider, J. J., Barkin, R. M., Hayden, S. R., Wolfe, R. E., Barkin, A. Z., Shayne, P., & Rosen, P. (Eds.), 5-Minute Emergency Consult (6th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307535/all/Laryngitis
Laryngitis [Internet]. In: Schaider JJJ, Barkin RMR, Hayden SRS, Wolfe RER, Barkin AZA, Shayne PP, Rosen PP, editors. 5-Minute Emergency Consult. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. [cited 2024 October 07]. Available from: https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307535/all/Laryngitis.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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