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Comparison between intralesional steroid injection vs. blue laser therapy for Reinke's edema in an office setting: a
Abdul-Latif Hamdan1, Lana Ghzayel2, Zeina Maria Semaan2
1Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, American University of Beirut Medical Center, 11-0236, Riad El Solh, Beirut, 1107 2020, Lebanon. ah77@aub.edu.lb.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to compare office-based laser therapy (OBLT) to intralesional steroid injections (ILSI) in the treatment of Reinke's edema (RE).
Methods:
The medical records and video-recordings of patients diagnosed with RE who underwent office-based therapy at the Voice and Swallowing Unit between November 2022 and December 2024 were reviewed. The primary outcome measures used were disease regression and patient-reported improvement in voice quality. Secondary outcome measures included acoustic voice parameters.
Results:
A total of 19 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 55 ± 13.28 years. Two patients had unilateral disease while 17 had bilateral disease (total of 36 lesions). Seventeen lesions were rated as type 1, two as type 2 and fourteen as type 3. Partial disease regression was noted in 24 lesions (66.7%) and complete disease regression was noted in 12 lesions (33.3%). There was no statistically significant difference in partial or complete disease regression between OBLT and ILSI (p = 0.414 and p = 0.248, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in the drop of mean VHI-10 scores between the two groups (p = 0.252). There was also no significant difference in the change in any of the acoustic parameters.
Conclusion:
OBLT and ILSI are effective in treating RE. There was no significant difference in any of the outcome measures between the two approaches. A larger sample size is needed to establish if there are disease-related differences, such as type of RE using either treatment modality.
