Clinical Evaluation of Hoarseness

Background:Hoarseness is a main clinical presentation of laryngeal diseases. Our objectives are to evaluate hoarseness among various ages, in different diseases and to identify various underlying causative factors Methods:It is an observational study of 92 cases of different diseases presented with hoarseness. These patients are of different age groups, who presented to Jinnah Hospital, Services Hospital, Lahore and Hameed Latif Hospital Lahore from July 2002 to July 2005. Results:Hoarseness is the main presenting complaint (100%) followed by difficulty in swallowing among laryngeal diseases. The incidence of hoarseness is common in the younger age group (34%). Advancedlaryngeal malignancy is presented in 37% cases. Conclusion:A plan of documentation and mass media compaign should be charted out to detect underlying causes and early diagnosis of laryngeal diseases for prevention and proper management.