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Emergency Medicine40 papers

Inducible laryngeal obstruction

Last edited: 4/15/2026

Overview

Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) encompasses conditions causing intermittent airway obstruction, including paradoxical vocal fold movement and irritant-induced laryngeal spasm, leading to symptoms like stridor and dyspnea 3.

Diagnosis

  • Clinical history and symptoms (hoarseness, stridor, dyspnea) are crucial 3.
  • Point-of-care airway ultrasonography can help assess laryngeal masses and rule out certain interventions like cricothyroidotomy 2.
  • Distinguishing from other causes like laryngomalacia may require interdisciplinary evaluation 3.
  • Management

  • Speech and language therapy interventions guided by behavior change techniques are emerging as a potential first-line approach 1.
  • Specific drug treatments are not detailed in the provided abstracts.
  • In severe cases, emergency interventions such as tracheostomy may be necessary if airway compromise is imminent 2.
  • Special Populations

  • No specific guidance provided for pregnancy, pediatrics, or elderly populations in the given abstracts.
  • Comorbidities may influence management complexity but are not explicitly addressed 3.
  • Key Recommendations

  • Utilize behavior change techniques informed by systematic literature reviews and clinical practice to develop speech and language therapy interventions for ILO (Evidence: Moderate 1).
  • Consider point-of-care airway ultrasonography to assess laryngeal structures and guide emergency airway management decisions (Evidence: Weak 2).
  • Employ interdisciplinary approaches for accurate diagnosis, distinguishing ILO from other laryngeal disorders like laryngomalacia (Evidence: Expert opinion 3).
  • References

    1 Butler J, Asbridge H, Stringer H. Applying behaviour change theory to speech and language therapy intervention for inducible laryngeal obstruction. International journal of language & communication disorders 2023. link 2 Iqhbal M, Noor JM, Karim NA, Ismail I, Sanib H, Mokhtar MA et al.. Point-of-Care Airway Ultrasonography Prior to an Emergency Cricothyroidotomy: Case Report. Sultan Qaboos University medical journal 2018. link 3 Christopher KL, Morris MJ. Vocal cord dysfunction, paradoxic vocal fold motion, or laryngomalacia? Our understanding requires an interdisciplinary approach. Otolaryngologic clinics of North America 2010. link

    Original source

    1. [1]
      Applying behaviour change theory to speech and language therapy intervention for inducible laryngeal obstruction.Butler J, Asbridge H, Stringer H International journal of language & communication disorders (2023)
    2. [2]
      Point-of-Care Airway Ultrasonography Prior to an Emergency Cricothyroidotomy: Case Report.Iqhbal M, Noor JM, Karim NA, Ismail I, Sanib H, Mokhtar MA et al. Sultan Qaboos University medical journal (2018)
    3. [3]

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