Enica Richard and Jonas William Ndasika
Introduction: Hoarseness of voice is a common complaint in otolaryngological practice and is an early manifestation of a large variety of conditions directly or indirectly affecting the larynx, ranging from inflammatory to malignant. Hoarseness has a prevalence of 6% in the general population, rising to 11% for professional voice users (30% of the patients whose work requires excessive voice use). Despite the high prevalence many people are unaware that persistent hoarseness may be a red flag indicating cancer. Any patient with hoarseness lasting longer than two weeks, in the absence of an apparent benign cause, requires a thorough evaluation of the larynx by direct or indirect laryngoscopy. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of hoarseness among patients attending otorhinolaryngology services at a tertiary hospital in Tanzania.
