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- Title
Transient Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Palsy Secondary to High Altitude Sickness.
- Authors
Misron, Khairunnisak; Abdullah, Baharudin; Mohamad, Wan Emelda Wan; Hashim, Hasme Zam
- Abstract
Introduction: Transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy in high altitude sickness is a rare presentation. Case report: A 21-year-old Chinese lady with no known medical illness presented with hoarseness for one month. She had history of climbing up a Kilimanjaro mountain, Tanzania prior to that symptom. She claimed at altitude of 3700 meters from sea level, she experienced left sided chest pain, mild breathlessness, headache and mild giddiness. When she woke up in the next morning, she developed sudden onset of hoarseness. Discussion and Conclusion: What happened during climbing up the mountain is that the mountaineers will experience hyperventilation in response to acute hypoxia. This condition becomes more prominent once they ascend up to 3450 meters from the sea level. Acute hypoxic state is responsible for vasoconstriction of pulmonary arteries which lead to increase in vascular resistance. Ultimately, it results in pulmonary artery hypertension. Transient hoarseness might be due to compression of left recurrent laryngeal nerve secondary to high altitude induced pulmonary hypertension.
- Subjects
CHINESE people; DIFFERENTIAL diagnosis; MOUNTAIN sickness; PARALYSIS; SYMPTOMS; VOCAL cord diseases; DISEASE complications; DIAGNOSIS
- Publication
International Medical Journal, 2016, Vol 23, Issue 4, p383
- ISSN
1341-2051
- Publication type
Article