ABSTRACT
Background: Hoarseness (dysphonia) is the reason for about 1% of all consultations in primary care. Numerous conditions can cause hoarseness, ranging from simple inflammatory processes to more serious systemic, neurologic, or cancerous conditions involving the larynx. Evaluation of a patient with hoarseness includes a careful history, physical examination, and in many cases, laryngoscopy. This study aimed to analyze the etiology of hoarseness of voice based on a fiberoptic laryngoscope (FOL). Material & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of ENT, in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital, Faridpur for 2 years; from January 2017 to December 2018. A total of 75 subjects fulfilling the inclusion criteria were enrolled as study subjects. Data were processed and analyzed using the software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 11.5. Results: In this study, most of the patients (18, 24.0%) belonged to the age group of 41-50 years, followed by 16 (21.33%) patients in the 61-70 years of age group, and then 15 (20.0%) patients were in 21-30 years of age group. None was from 0-10 years and only 2 (2.66%) patients belonged to the 11-20 years age group. Concerning the sex of the patients, 62 (83.0%) patients were male and the rest 13 (17.0%) were female indicating male predominance. 40 (53.33%) respondents had a smoking habit, and the rest 35 (46.66%) patients did not have a smoking habit. Regarding occupation, most of the patients (24, 32.0%) were farmers, followed by 19 (25.33%) were businessmen, and 10 (13.33%) patients were service holders. Concerning the findings, most of the patients (20, 26.66%) had growth of larynx, followed by 11 (14.66%) patients had polyp/cyst, 10 (13.33%) patients had paresis, 8 (10.66%) patients had nodule, 6 (8.0%) patients had edema, 4 (5.33%) patients had chronic laryngitis, 3 (4.0%) patients had keratosis/leukoplakia and another 3 (4.0%) patients had a phonatory gap. Conclusion: Hoarseness of voice is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and therefore warrants a careful determination of the underlying cause in every case. Fiber optic laryngoscopy was an excellent tool for the diagnosis of hoarseness. Causes of hoarseness included growth in the larynx, polyp/cyst, nodules, edema, chronic laryngitis, keratosis/leukoplakia, and phonatory gaps in this study.