ESSD-ESGAR best practice position statements on the technical performance of videofluoroscopic swallowing studies in adult patients with swallowing disorders.

Objectives: Videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS) remain the gold standard for the instrumental assessment of oropharyngeal swallowing disorders alongside flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), requiring a high standard of quality and correct implementation. The current best practice position statements aim to guide the clinical practice of VFSS in individuals experiencing swallowing disorders.

Materials And Methods: An international expert consensus panel with expertise in oropharyngeal dysphagia, comprised of radiologists, speech-language therapists, otolaryngologists, and other professionals in the field, convened by the European Society of Swallowing Disorders (ESSD) and the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR), developed best practice position statements.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia in children with multiple disabilities.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia among institutionalised children with multiple disabilities, a topic with limited literature coverage.

Methods: The study employed a questionnaire, specifically the F-PEDI-EAT-10, to screen for dysphagia in children. Trained nurses administered the questionnaire to the participants.

Expert Consensus on Clinical Decision Making in the Disease Trajectory of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Adults: An International Delphi Study.

To date, no consensus exists on the complex clinical decision-making processes involved in oropharyngeal dysphagia, or swallowing disorders. This study aimed to develop an international consensus on a clinical decision tree for the disease trajectory of oropharyngeal dysphagia in adults, taking into account physiological impairments of swallowing, risk factors for the development of complications from oropharyngeal dysphagia, and prognostic factors for treatment outcomes. Using the Delphi technique, consensus was achieved among dysphagia experts across 31 countries, resulting in a total of 10 physiological impairments, 23 risk factors and 21 prognostic factors identified as relevant factors in the clinical decision-making process.

Feeding modality evolution in traumatic brain injury patients with severe alteration of consciousness: A observational study.

The aim of this study was to compare feeding modalities and the level of consciousness in patients with a severe brain injury during reeducation and rehabilitation. The clinical data of vegetative state or minimal conscious state due to severe traumatic brain injury hospitalized in a coma arousal unit were collected from 2012 to 2019. Feeding modalities were evaluated clinically and with functional endoscopy evaluation of swallowing or video fluoroscopy and functional oral intake scale.

Can Swallowing Cerebral Neurophysiology Be Evaluated during Ecological Food Intake Conditions? A Systematic Literature Review.

Swallowing is a complex function that relies on both brainstem and cerebral control. Cerebral neurofunctional evaluations are mostly based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), performed with the individual laying down; which is a non-ecological/non-natural position for swallowing. According to the PRISMA guidelines, a review of the non-invasive non-radiating neurofunctional tools, other than fMRI and PET, was conducted to explore the cerebral activity in swallowing during natural food intake, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines.

SWALLOWING ACTIVATION USING SENSORY STIMULATION IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE DISORDERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

Objective: Swallowing disorders are systematically present in patients with severe brain injury, disorders of consciousness, and subsequently poor quality of life. The study hypothesis was that taste and smell could improve swallowing function and quality of life in such patients, who are fed by gastrostomy tube.

Methods: Eight patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome were included in this study.

European Stroke Organisation and European Society for Swallowing Disorders guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of post-stroke dysphagia.

Post-stroke dysphagia (PSD) is present in more than 50% of acute stroke patients, increases the risk of complications, in particular aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration, and is linked to poor outcome and mortality. The aim of this guideline is to assist all members of the multidisciplinary team in their management of patients with PSD. These guidelines were developed based on the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) standard operating procedure and followed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.

White Paper by the European Society for Swallowing Disorders: Screening and Non-instrumental Assessment for Dysphagia in Adults.

This White Paper by the European Society for Swallowing Disorders (ESSD) reports on the current state of screening and non-instrumental assessment for dysphagia in adults. An overview is provided on the measures that are available, and how to select screening tools and assessments. Emphasis is placed on different types of screening, patient-reported measures, assessment of anatomy and physiology of the swallowing act, and clinical swallowing evaluation.

ESSD Commentary on Dysphagia Management During COVID Pandemia.

Since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic a Global Public Health Emergency, experts in swallowing are seeking guidance on service delivery and clinical procedures. The European Society for Swallowing Disorders provides considerations to support experts in swallowing disorders in clinical practice. During the COVID-19 pandemic, assessment and treatment of patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia should be provided, while at the same time balancing risk of oropharyngeal complications with that of infection of patients and healthcare professionals involved in their management.

Effects of practice on a mechanical horse with an online feedback on performing a sitting postural coordination.

The present research aims at quantifying the impact of practicing a new coordination pattern with an online visual feedback on the postural coordination performed on a mechanical horse. Forty-four voluntary participants were recruited in this study. They were randomly assigned to four practice groups based on i) with or without feedback (i.

Buccofacial Apraxia, Oropharyngeal Dysphagia, and Dementia Severity in Community-Dwelling Elderly Patients.

Apraxia occurs frequently in patients with dementia. Buccofacial apraxia (BFA) characteristics have been less investigated than limb or speech apraxia. An association between BFA and oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) in old patients with dementia has not yet been explored.

Effect of Mechanical Horse Practice as New Postural Training in Patients With Neurological Disorders: A Pilot Study.

From a dynamic system approach, this study evaluated the impact of a new training protocol on the postural coordination of brain-damaged patients. Eighteen volunteer brain-damaged patients (i.e.

Breathing pattern during sequential swallowing in healthy adult humans.

Sequential liquid swallowing is a common daily occurrence during which coordination of deglutition and breathing are highly regulated to avoid pulmonary aspiration and to maintain hematosis. We studied the effects of sequential water swallowing (SWS) at fixed swallowing rates and with regular succession of swallows on respiration in healthy subjects. Thirty-one normal adults (19 men, 12 women) with a mean age of 27.

Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Community-Dwelling Older Patients with Dementia: Prevalence and Relationship with Geriatric Parameters.

Objectives: To define the prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) in community-dwelling older persons with dementia, using V-VST (Volume-Viscosity Swallow Test), the reference clinical screening test for swallowing disorders, to assess the feasibility of the V-VST in an ambulatory care setting, to search for associations between geriatric parameters and OD, and to identify a relationship between severities of cognitive impairment and OD.

Design: Prospective, monocentric study.

Setting: Population from a geriatric outpatients clinic.

Reinnervation of the diaphragm by the inferior laryngeal nerve to the phrenic nerve in ventilator-dependent tetraplegic patients with C3-5 damage.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of unilateral diaphragmatic reinnervation in humans by the inferior laryngeal nerve. This pilot study included chronically ventilated tetraplegic patients with destruction of phrenic nerve motoneurons. Five patients were included.

Implication of the vagus nerve in breathing pattern during sequential swallowing in rats.

The ventilatory pattern during sequential swallowing is influenced by the vagal activity. As the vagus nerve is paired and mixed, we aimed (1) to determine if vagal implication in swallowing and breathing coordination is symmetric. (2) to study the importance of vagal afferences in swallowing and breathing coordination.

Predictive factors for compliance with transanal irrigation for the treatment of defecation disorders.

Aim: To investigate compliance with transanal irrigation (TAI) one year after a training session and to identify predictive factors for compliance.

Methods: The compliance of one hundred eight patients [87 women and 21 men; median age 55 years (range 18-83)] suffering from constipation or fecal incontinence (FI) was retrospectively assessed. The patients were trained in TAI over a four-year period at a single institution.

Human Energy Expenditure and Postural Coordination on the Mechanical Horse.

The authors investigated and compared the energy expenditure and postural coordination of two groups of healthy subjects on a mechanical horse at 4 increasing oscillation frequencies. Energy expenditure was assessed from the oxygen consumption, respiratory quotient, and heart rate values, and postural coordination was characterized by relative phase computations between subjects (elbow, head, trunk) and horse. The results showed that the postural coordination of the riders was better adapted (i.

Swallowing function and chronic respiratory diseases: Systematic review.

Background: The precise coordination between breathing and swallowing is an important mechanism to prevent pulmonary aspiration. Factors that alter breathing patterns and ventilation, such as chronic respiratory diseases, may influence that precise coordination of breathing and swallowing.

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine the effects of chronic respiratory diseases on swallowing function.

Effect of submental sensitive transcutaneous electrical stimulation on virtual lesions of the oropharyngeal cortex.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of submental sensitive transcutaneous electrical stimulation (SSTES) on pharyngeal cortical representation after the creation of an oropharyngeal cortical virtual lesion in healthy subjects.

Methods: Motor-evoked potential amplitude of the mylohyoid muscles was measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the oropharyngeal cortex was mapped by cartography, and videofluoroscopic parameters of swallowing function were measured before and after SSTES (at the end of SSTES [0 min] and at 30 and 60 min), after the creation of a cortical virtual lesion (repetitive TMS, 1 Hz, 20 min on the dominant swallowing hemisphere).

Results: Nine subjects completed the study.

Potential of olfactory ensheathing cells from different sources for spinal cord repair.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces a permanent disability in patients. To this day no curative treatment can be proposed to restore lost functions. Therefore, extensive experimental studies have been conducted to induce recovery after SCI.

"Virtual" lesioning of the human oropharyngeal motor cortex: a videofluoroscopic study.

Objective: To use focal cortical inhibition and create a "virtual" lesion in the oropharyngeal motor cortex in healthy subjects to determine whether this provokes swallowing dysfunction.

Design: Intervention study: before and after cortical stimulation.

Setting: Tertiary care center.