You searched for "swallowing"
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...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...
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...
Take a breath between mouthfuls
Pulse oximetry provides a measure of the percentage of oxygen in the blood. The usual range of readings on pulse oximetry is 97-99%. Older people may have lower pulse oximetry readings than younger people, and young women have higher readings...
Do certain chronic medications increase dysphagia in older people?
Oropharyngeal dysphagia is known to affect a high number of older people in the community, in care homes and in acute geriatric admissions to hospital. The authors of this study have recognised that many older people take drugs for chronic...2nd UEP/BLA Joint Meeting
After the success of last year’s inaugural joint meeting in London between the British Laryngological Association (BLA) and the Union of the European Phoniatricians (UEP), the two bodies are coming together again in the charming city of Zagreb, the capital...
Swallow this: management of dysphagia in progressive neurological conditions
Whether the person with the swallowing difficulty has an acquired or progressive neurological condition, understanding the aetiology will allow the speech and language therapist assessing the swallow to have a better understanding of the likely implications for future swallow management...
