You searched for "dysphagia"
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...
What can we tell about swallow physiology from a bedside clinical assessment?
Knowledge about swallowing physiology has greatly increased with the use of instrumental assessments such as videofluoroscopy (VFS). The authors of this paper performed an analysis of data obtained from 60 stroke patients who were assessed via a clinical swallow examination...
Prophylactic swallowing exercises in head and neck cancer
Clinicians working in head and neck cancer will be familiar with the increased interest in prophylactic swallowing exercises to reduce the devastating impact of dysphagia experienced by patients undergoing radiation or chemo-radiation therapy. This study from Denmark is one of...
Clinical Esophagology and Transnasal Esophagoscopy
This textbook starts by giving a background to esophageal anatomy, physiology and non-invasive tests, an area that is often overlooked and not considered in detail in other texts read by ENT surgeons. Transnasal esophagoscopy is a comparatively new domain for...
Cuff up or cuff down; to occlude or not to occlude? What effect does tracheostomy tube modification have on swallowing outcomes?
Dysphagia is commonly seen in patients with tracheostomy. The current global pandemic has increased interest in the impact of a tracheostomy on swallowing outcomes. This systematic review is therefore a timely addition to the literature and a useful read for...
Mental practice could be a great COVID-19 solution for delivering swallow rehab
Motor imagery is defined as the process of voluntarily generating a mental image of a motor function without actually doing said function. Mental practice (MP) is the process of doing this repeatedly; practising it. There is some evidence that this...
Everyone has the right to say no
Despite the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act in 2005, healthcare professionals remain uncomfortable with individuals who choose not to follow medical advice - who make informed decisions to decline a treatment or management plans. This paper highlights that speech...
Videofluoroscopic swallowing studies: balancing risks and benefits
Videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) are an important part of the diagnostic toolkit and arguably the current gold-standard for assessing swallow biomechanics and diagnosing dysphagia. However, the procedure does involve exposure to radiation, and any clinician requesting this should be able...
Post-thyroidectomy vocal cord palsy: are there long-term sequelae?
This is a well written paper utilising the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset for all thyroidectomies performed in England between 2004 and 2012. The study had a very impressive 43,515 participants and only included young, fit patients undergoing thyroidectomy once for...
A mouth-rinse test that can screen for oral cancer?
This paper presents a promising screening tool for oral cancer – using a simple chlorhexidine mouth-rinse. The hypermethylated ZNF582 and PAX1 markers were chosen based on previous studies using oral scraping methods of collection and have been shown to be...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...
