LARYNGOPHARYNGEAL REFLUX ...

A 62-year-old woman presented to the hospital complaining of a persistent dry cough lasting 18 months. Despite taking various medications such as dihydrocodeine, clarithromycin, pranlukast, and rabeprazole, her cough did not improve. The patient underwent several tests, including spirometry, a CT scan, and laboratory examinations, which revealed no abnormalities. The patient was tentatively diagnosed with psychogenic cough and was given inhaled corticosteroids and tiotropium bromide, but these medications did not work. She was afebrile and appeared well, with typical vital signs on physical examination. Facial knock pain was absent. No ulceration was found in her oropharynx. After being referred to a hospital, the patient was diagnosed with a chronic cough caused by slight epiglottic inversion dysfunction, silent aspiration, and laryngopharyngeal reflux. Laryngoscopy revealed oedema of the arytenoid cartilage and slight epiglottic inversion dysfunction because of its malformation, which seemed to be congenital as shown in figure 01. Likewise, the brain MRI ruled out the possibility of bulbar paralysis and stroke and revealed no abnormalities. The final diagnosis was made based on the results of a sputum culture test, laryngoscopy, and brain MRI.