The Effect of Topical Anesthesia on Vocal Fold Motion

The objective of this study was to determine if topical anesthesia to the larynx and pharynx affects vocal fold motion during dynamic voice evaluation with transnasal flexible endoscopy. Transnasal dynamic laryngeal examinations of 10 patients with no voice complaints were evaluated by five blinded fellowship-trained laryngologists. Each patient was examined before and after application of topical anesthetic. Reviewers rated briskness of right and left vocal fold movement and longitudinal tension on a visual analogue scale. Statistical comparisons were made between individual subject scores before and after anesthetic application. Inter-rater reliability was also assessed. No statistical difference was observed between subject scores before and after anesthetic application. Average intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.643 and 0.591 for pre- and postanesthesia scores, respectively. Application of topical anesthesia to the larynx and pharynx does not affect vocal fold motion.