Impact of unilateral vocal fold mobility impairment on laryngopulmonary physiology

Objective To examine the impact of unilateral vocal fold mobility impairment (UVFMI) on airway physiology. Study design Cross‐sectional observational study. Participants There were 21 patients with UVFMI and 53 controls. Main outcome measures All patients and patient controls underwent a maximum‐effort flow‐volume loop examination. Forced expiratory flow in one second (FEV1), forced expiratory volume (FVC), peak inspiratory flow rate and peak expiratory flow rate (PIFR and PEFR, respectively) and area under the inspiratory and expiratory flow‐volume loops (AUCInspiratory and AUCExpiratory, respectively) were measured. The ratio of PEFR to PIFR and AUCExpiratory to AUCInspiratory was derived. Results There were 48 males and 26 females. Mean age at measurement was 39 ± 11 years. Patients and controls were matched for age, sex, height and weight. None of the expiratory variables were significantly different between the groups. PIFR was significantly lower in UVFMI patients compared with controls (3.4 ± 1.2 versus 5.3 ± 1.8; P