Vagal mononeuropathy is very rare. Diabetes mellitus is one of the causes of this rare disease condition.
Here we report a 44-year-old woman who presented with an idiopathic vagal mononeuropathy and
was finally diagnosed with diabetic vagal mononeuropathy. She presented with isolated dysphagia
without hoarseness or other symptoms related with vagal dysfunction. Except for diabetes mellitus,
no abnormalities were found by routine and specific checkups including brain imaging, gastroscopy,
electromyography, and laryngoscopy. Finally, 12 days later, she abruptly developed hoarseness without
other cranial nerve dysfunction.We suggest that her neurological symptoms originated from diabetes
affecting the vagus nerve in isolation. Clinicians should pay attention to this association, especially
when they encounter a patient with diabetes mellitus with sudden idiopathic dysphagia even without
problems of vocalization.
Diabetes Mellitus