You searched for "swallowing"

1202 results found

Swallow assessment: is clinical judgement or objective measurement more reliable?

Swallowing difficulties are life threatening and are the most common referral reason to speech and language therapists working with the adult population. Video fluoroscopic examination is a common instrumental tool used to assist in the assessment of the risk of...

Standardising videofluoroscopy assessment for bottle-fed babies

Swallowing problems in babies may occur for many reasons including complex medical problems, premature birth, and low birth-weight. Dysphagia causes several further morbidities such as poor nutrition and compromised respiration, often raising distress for both infants and their caregivers. Early...

Dysphagia in complex laryngology – maintaining the balance

These authors from the speech and language therapy department at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, describe their view of a patient-centred approach to managing dysphagia in complex laryngology. Careful consideration of the balance of airway, voice and swallow, which is...

Old age is hard to swallow

This article takes us through the diagnosis and management of swallowing problems common in older age. As our global population continues to grow and live longer, dysphagia will continue to be a global problem which needs to be recognised, understood...

Dysphagia in people with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer

Human papilloma virus (HPV) associated oropharyngeal cancers are becoming much more prevalent and, in some geographic areas, have overtaken tobacco as the leading cause of oropharyngeal cancer. HPV-associated cancers are also reported to have better prognosis in general, and research...

The pioneers of endoscopy and the sword swallowers

Adolf Kussmaul drew inspiration from an unlikely source to further the development of endoscopy… The early pioneers of airway endoscopy and oesophagoscopy were bedevilled by two major and seemingly insurmountable problems. One was the paucity of light sources, with reliance...

How common is self-reported dysphagia in the general population?

Healthcare policymakers and commissioners of services often review incidence and prevalence data when deciding on resource allocation. The authors of this paper have capitalised on a large dataset, the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), which collects data on over...

Assessing post-extubation dysphagia on the intensive care unit

The incidence of post-extubation dysphagia (PED) is reported to be about 12% in the general ICU population and around 18% in patients admitted to ICU as emergencies. PED was found to be an independent predictor of 28-day and 90-day mortality....

Grading dysphagia as a toxicity in treating head and neck cancer

Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) is a system used by clinicians to grade the toxicity of oncology treatments in a standardised manner. Dysphagia is perhaps the most common long-term toxicity of head and neck cancer treatment. Currently, a...

Analysing videofluroscopy: does it matter how it’s done?

Videofluoroscopy, as a tool that assesses the process of swallowing, has transformed our understanding of dysphagia. Clinicians can observe the biomechanics of a bolus moving from the oral cavity through the pharynx and oesophagus and into the stomach. Over the...

Videofluoroscopy: A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

This book places videofluoroscopy in the context of a broader, more holistic approach to the management of patients with dysphagia. It recognises that this is perhaps currently the best available tool to aid our understanding of the physiology of normal...

What about the older adults?

The authors of this paper propose that significant changes in the delivery of services, including speech and language therapy management of swallowing difficulties, may be required. Among the most common causes of dysphagia in older adults are stroke, progressive neurological...