CT mediastinum examination in recurrent nerve paralysis.

Twenty-two patients with recurrent nerve paralysis without a cervical cause were studied by CT of the mediastinum. Positive findings were present in 22 cases, including one false-positive case. The CT findings were not apparent on chest X-ray film in five of nine cases with mediastinal lymph node involvement, five of nine mediastinal tumors, and two of three cases of vascular etiology. We suggest that CT of the mediastinum is a good examination to search for the etiology of recurrent nerve paralysis without a known cervical cause.