A Case of Fungal Infection of the Larynx

Abstract

A case of fungal infection of the larynx is reported. The patient is a 75-year-old man with a chief complaint of aphonia. Laryngeal fiberscopy revealed thick white plaques covering the whole lumen of the larynx. Specimens for a pathological examination were taken from the plaque and its underlying tissues at the left false cord. Histopathologically, they consisted of a large quantity of pseudohyphae and blastopores and diagnosed as the infection of candida. Therapy was initiated with fluconazole (200 mg/day) for two weeks and the plaques of the larynx were disappeared completely. He has been followed-up without any recurrence to date. The fungal infection of the larynx is very rare and only 16 cases have been reported in the Japanese literature. We reviewed them with some discussions.