Vocal Fold Paralysis Following COVID-19 Vaccination: Query of VAERS Database.
Osama A Hamdi, Rachel H Jonas, James J Daniero
PMID 35193788WHAT IT FOUND
Nineteen patients developed vocal fold paralysis after COVID-19 vaccination, with symptoms starting on average 12 days later.
This is a database query showing correlation, not causation. Voice complaints post-vaccination warrant laryngoscopy, but the event is exceedingly rare.
Key findings
01Nineteen patients had laryngoscopy-confirmed vocal fold paresis or paralysis after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, with a mean time to symptom onset of 12.1 days.
02The study identifies a correlation between vaccination and vocal fold paralysis but explicitly states that causation has not been established.
03For patients presenting with voice or swallowing complaints after vaccination, the authors recommend prompt evaluation by an otolaryngologist.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relies on VAERS, a passive reporting system that may contain incomplete, inaccurate, or unverified information. There is no control group, so it is impossible to determine if the rate of vocal fold paralysis in vaccinated individuals is higher than in the general population. The authors cannot confirm whether patients had pre-existing vocal fold paralysis that was only discovered after vaccination. Long-term outcomes of the paralysis are unknown due to lack of follow-up data in the database. The study establishes correlation only, not causation.
Declared interests
None reported in the text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the vaccine caused the paralysis. This is a case series from a passive reporting database with no control group, and the authors explicitly state that causation has not been established.