You searched for "dysphagia"
Bothersome ‘burping’ – speech therapy may help
Most people experience belching as a normal phenomenon, often after eating or drinking carbonated drinks in particular. However, separate to this normal physiological phenomenon, some people experience belches that can occur much more frequently (up to 20 times a minute)...
Are there benefits of prophylactic swallowing exercises for patients with head and neck cancer?
This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...
Choosing instrumental assessments of swallowing for children
Swallowing disorders in children are increasingly common due to advances in medical care allowing them to survive prematurity or complex health conditions. Careful assessment of eating and drinking is necessary to ensure that children are managed both safely and with...
Marshmallows for swallowing assessments!
The complaint of ‘food sticking in my throat’ is one many of us will have heard several times in clinical practice. The authors of this study report the prevalence of this symptom to be between 5-8% in the general population...From the editor May/June 2023
Declan Costello, MA, MBBS, FRCS(ORL-HNS),Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, Berkshire, UK. E: d.costello@nhs.netTw: @Voicedoctor_uk The management of swallowing disorders is often seen as a ‘Cinderella’ field, so it is a real pleasure to be able...The multidisciplinary voice clinic
In his inimitable way, Nick Gibbins tells us why the voice clinic is the highlight of his week – and his very own field of dreams. The voice clinic has come a long way in the last 40 years. The...
Hyaluronic acid injection laryngoplasty
This systematic review discusses the use of hyaluronic acid in injection laryngoplasties. Unilateral vocal cord paralysis leads to incomplete vocal fold adduction and dysphonia. For patients not improving with voice therapy, surgical procedures include injection laryngoplasty or open laryngeal framework...
Medication and its effect on the larynx
This article summarises different medications and their effect on the voice. A growing number of patients we see in clinic are on multiple medications that could affect vocal cord function. The author summarises different classes of medications and their potential...
Predicting life-threatening complications in deep neck space infections
Deep neck space infections, arising usually from tonsils and lymph nodes in children and dental source and salivary glands in adults can be life threatening. It is therefore important to recognise the variables which indicate immediate intervention to prevent fatalities....
Airway intervention for epiglottitis
This Japanese study was a retrospective review of 83 patients admitted with epiglottitis over a 9.5-year period. The authors found that the factors that were significantly more likely to be present in patients who received airway intervention were: odynophagia; drooling;...Transnasal oesophagoscopy (TNO) and balloon dilatation under a local anaesthesia
Many of us are becoming more and more familiar with the use of transnasal oesophagoscopy. It has a number of well-described uses in the outpatient setting and is well tolerated by our patients. Yakubu Karagama describes taking this technique a...
