Forceful sneeze: An uncommon cause of laryngeal fracture

Nir Tsur; Nimrod Amitai; Hagit Shoffel-Havakuk; Shlomi Abuhasira; Yaniv Hamzany

doi:10.1016/j.radcr.2021.01.002

Forceful sneeze: An uncommon cause of laryngeal fracture

Radiol Case Rep. 2021 Jan 20;16(3):742-743. doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2021.01.002. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Authors

Nir Tsur^{1

2}, Nimrod Amitai^{1

2}, Hagit Shoffel-Havakuk^{1

2}, Shlomi Abuhasira¹, Yaniv Hamzany^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel.
² Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Abstract

Laryngeal fractures are generally induced by direct blunt or penetrating trauma to the neck. Coughing vigorously or sneezing forcefully is extremely rare causes of laryngeal fractures, with only 4 cases found after thorough literature search. Herein we present a case of a 34-year-old male presenting to the ENT emergency room with throat pain, odynophagia, dysphagia, and hoarseness. Following primary evaluation, through physical examination and imaging he was diagnosed with thyroid cartilage fracture and treated conservatively. The triad of odynophagia, dysphagia, and dysphonia after a severe episode of coughing or sneezing in a young adult male patient should prompt suspicion of a laryngeal fracture.

Keywords: Coughing; Laryngeal fracture; Sneezing; Thyroid cartilage.

Publication types

Case Reports