Background: The COVID-19 epidemic is largely controlled by the use of face masks. The use of a face mask has been indicated as a strong cause of dry eye, although it is not yet described in the literature. This study aims to compare the impact of the use of masks on the visual quality of patients. The symptoms in the human eye intensified during the pandemic versus the symptoms before the pandemic, in a Portuguese population. Methods: A fifteen-question questionnaire was conducted to find out what changes occurred in the use of soft contact lenses during the pandemic in relation to the use of masks. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 27.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: The use of contact lenses decreased compared with before the pandemic (p < 0.001). The number of hours of wear decreased significantly compared with before the pandemic (p < 0.001). The sensation of dry eyes was found to be worse in those using monthly replacement contact lenses (p = 0.034), and the need to remove contact lenses was more frequent in women (p = 0.026) after using a mask. Conclusions: Mask use increases dry eye symptoms in contact lens wearers, negatively impacting visual quality.

Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease of unknown aetiology. It can affect any part of the organism, although the lung is the most frequently affected organ. Upper airway involvement is rare, particularly if isolated. Sarcoidosis is a diagnosis of exclusion, established by histological evidence of non-caseating granulomas and the absence of other granulomatous diseases. The authors report a case of a man with sarcoidosis manifesting as a chronic inflammatory stenotic condition of the upper respiratory tract and trachea.

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Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) is a frequent finding in otorhinolaryngology practice, but its occurrence as a port complication was very rarely described in English Literature. The authors report a 55-year-old woman with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma who presented a left vocal fold paralysis that occurred concurrently with a venous thrombosis of the left subclavian vein, where a totally implantable venous-access had been previously placed. Although the patient’s oncologic disease, that could mislead to a neoplastic cause of the UVFP, the authors came across with an unusual etiology and to their best knowledge, it is the first case of irreversible UVFP associated with onsite thrombosis of the vessel where a port was implanted. The objective of this article is to present and discuss this rare case of UVFP secondary to a port complication and to review the main mechanisms of iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis related to these devices.

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