Stridor from edema of the arytenoids, epiglottis, and vocal cords after use of free-base cocaine.

At the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, approximately 10% of the patients referred for inpatient evaluation for refractory asthma have vocal cord dysfunction with¬ out any evidence of asthma. An additional 30% are diagnosed as having both vocal cord dysfunction and asthma.1 Based on this data, we would have expected a significant number of patients treated by Kass and Castriotta, as described in their article published in the March 1995 issue (CHEST 1995; 107:757-60), to have had vocal cord dysfunction. While potentially of some value in the treatment