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Predicting swallowing outcomes post radiotherapy for head and neck cancer

A videofluroscopic swallow study (VFSS), also known as modified barium swallow (MBS) offers a dynamic view of swallow biomechanics and associated swallowing physiology. The authors of this paper investigated whether quantitative timing and displacement measures of key structures involved in...

Fitting and Dispensing Hearing Aids, Second Edition

As you might expect from two authors of such stature, this book is extremely effective and well written. In form it is as close to a pop-science book as one could get while still being very much focussed for those...

What is the relationship between swallowing difficulties and underlying mental health issues?

People living with dysphagia often experience mental health difficulties. This study aimed to identify whether pre-existing anxiety and depression impacted patient scores on a patient-reported swallowing outcome measure, the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) where a score of ≥3 is indicative...

Resolving dysphagia – can we distinguish mild dysphagia from no dysphagia?

Many patients with dysphagia following neurological events can and do experience a resolution of their swallowing difficulties, sometimes without any intervention. However, it is challenging for clinicians to distinguish mild dysphagia from no dysphagia. The question of where to draw...

Swallowing and breathing: speech and language therapy

Swallowing difficulties are a common comorbidity in just over a quarter of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Given the associated risks of aspiration and exacerbation of COPD symptoms, speech and language therapists (SLTs) can offer valuable guidance...

Impact of lingual pumping in Parkinson’s patients with dysphagia

Dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most important causes of mortality in these patients. Swallowing difficulty in Parkinson’s disease is associated with lingual pumping or festination, anterior escape, premature loss of bolus, oral and pharyngeal retention, multiple...

Airway first in patients with facial trauma

Anyone that has ever been on an ATLS or indeed any other trauma course will be well indoctrinated with the principles of ABC. Securing the airway is of paramount importance; but what to do if the anatomy is altered or...

Even titanium is not that inert

Titanium is part of most implantable metals in the human body including cochlear implants (CIs). Allergy to titanium is rare. The authors hypothesised that such an allergy could be a cause of pain in CI patients. They present a case...