Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:(1) To determine whether perception of pharyngeal residue severity differs by view plane on videofluoroscopy. (2) To explore whether the Bolus Clearance Ratio (BCR) can be reliably applied in the anterior-posterior (AP) plane. (3) To investigate the relationship between perception of residue severity and BCR measures across view planes. METHODS:Images of the same bolus condition in lateral and AP were rated using a simple 5-point ordinal descriptive scale (none, trace, mild, moderate, severe) by 225 speech-language pathologists via electronic survey. BCR measures were obtained for the same set of images from four trained raters. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and cumulative mixed modeling were used to compare ratings by plane. BCR reliability was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Perceptual ratings were compared with BCR measures using Spearman correlations. RESULT/RESULTS:(1) Perception of residue severity was not consistent across plane in 9/10 image pairs (p < 0.05), with a significant fixed effect of plane on severity rating (β = 0.41; z = 7.27; p < 0.001). The directionality of differences varied by case. (2) Inter-rater reliability for BCR measures was good across lateral (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.82) and AP (ICC = 0.87) planes, with superior intra-rater reliability in AP (lateral ICC = 0.85; AP ICC = 0.98). (3) There was a strong positive correlation between perceptual ratings and BCR measures in both planes. CONCLUSIONS:Perception of pharyngeal residue severity differs between lateral and AP planes with inconsistent directionality raising important questions about the clinical implications of single plane studies. The BCR shows good-excellent reliability and strong correlation with perception across planes, offering a promising method for cross-plane quantification. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:Level III, diagnostic study with a gold standard Laryngoscope, 2024.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is an independent predictor of poor outcomes in many health conditions and can be targeted directly through swallowing therapy. This study aims to explore the outcomes of outpatient swallowing therapy in clinical practice across a diverse cohort of patients. This was a retrospective, single-site longitudinal cohort study. Patients 18 years or older with dysphagia who completed 7-8 weeks of outpatient swallowing therapy with a pre- and post-treatment videofluoroscopy were included. Therapy employed a progressive swallowing exercise regimen based on the Systematic Exercise for Treatment of Swallowing (SETS) protocol. Outcome measures included the pharyngeal components of the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile, penetration-aspiration scale scores, and diet recommendations using the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative. 152 patients were included. Swallowing therapy improved all MBSImP component scores except 1, 7, and 13. Therapy improved total pharyngeal impairment scores by 2.66 points (p < .001) and total oral impairment score by 1.41 points (p < .001). Odds of elevated aspiration risk were reduced by 49% (p < .001). Patients were more likely to be on an unmodified food consistency after completion of therapy (OR 26, p = .004), but liquid consistency was not altered (OR 2.0, p = .57). Overall, 44% of patients in the cohort with an efficiency issue improved, and 50% of patients at risk for aspiration pre-therapy improved. Completing a 7-8 week course of exercise-based outpatient swallowing therapy is effective at improving multiple measures of swallowing physiology, safety and efficiency. It can also enable relaxation of diet consistency restrictions based on the IDDSI framework.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Dysphagia is a commonly occurring medical condition estimated to occur in between and 10% adults in the US. Despite this relatively high prevalence, the general population's understanding of this condition is currently unknown. Our aims were to (a) conduct a large-scale survey to determine the public's awareness and understanding of dysphagia in comparison to other three other health conditions and (b) compare this knowledge to relative prevalence rates of the conditions. METHODS:The survey was designed to measure four constructs of interest comparing dysphagia with insomnia, vertigo and ataxia. Constructs included: (1) Knowledge of the Condition, (2) Source of Knowledge, (3) Health Impact, (4) Treating Medical Professionals. The survey was launched via Qualtrics™ software and participants were recruited and paid using Prolific™. Descriptive statistics were used to compare participants knowledge of dysphagia with the other conditions. To obtain relative prevalence rates, Cosmos was used to quantify the number of Epic-based patient encounters with any ICD-10 code for each condition in 2023 and expressed as a percent of all patient encounters in the US in 2023. RESULTS:2000 adults (n = 1030 female) aged 18-95 (median 49, IQR = 33-62) completed our survey. When asked, 'Do you know what ____ is'? participants expressed higher familiarity with insomnia (99%) and vertigo (87%) in comparison to dysphagia (25%) and ataxia (18%). From a list of 8 options, 99% and 94% participants selected the correct impairment for insomnia and vertigo respectively, compared with 44% correct for dysphagia and 22% for ataxia. Participants selected an appropriate healthcare provider for dysphagia 47% of the time compared with 74% for insomnia, 56% for vertigo and 36% for ataxia. When asked to identify up to 3 sequelae (from a list of 9), only 4% of participants were able to correctly identify all three for dysphagia, in comparison to 16% for ataxia, 27% for vertigo and 60% for insomnia. The Cosmos analysis revealed that while insomnia had the highest prevalence in 2023 (5.5% of patient encounters), dysphagia occurred much more frequently (2.4%) than vertigo (0.68%) and ataxia (0.24%). CONCLUSIONS:These discrepancies highlight a notable gap in public awareness between dysphagia and more recognized conditions of insomnia and vertigo, even though the prevalence of dysphagia is higher than vertigo. Increasing public awareness of dysphagia is vital for early intervention, increasing quality of life, and advocating for equitable access to healthcare resources.

OBJECTIVE:Vocal tremor (VT) poses treatment challenges due to uncertain pathophysiology. VT is typically classified into two phenotypes: isolated vocal tremor (iVT) and essential tremor-related voice tremor (ETvt). The impact of phenotypes on upper aerodigestive tract physiology during swallowing remains unclear. Qualitative and quantitative measures were employed to characterize tremor phenotypes and investigate the effects on swallowing physiology. METHODS:Eleven ETvt participants (1 Male, 10 Female; x̄ age = 74) and 8 iVT participants (1 Male, 7 Female; x̄ age = 71) swallowed 20 mL boluses in cued and uncued conditions under standardized fluoroscopic visualization. Sustained/a/productions were captured to assess the rate and extent of fundamental frequency (F0) modulation. Penetration and Aspiration Scale (PAS) scores were obtained and swallowing biomechanics were captured using Swallowtail™ software. Participants also completed the Swallowing Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL) questionnaire. RESULTS:Hypopharyngeal transit was faster in both VT phenotypes compared with Swallowtail™ normative reference data. Total pharyngeal transit times, however, were only faster in patients with iVT, relative to reference data. No significant differences were observed on the SWAL-QOL or PAS between tremor phenotypes. SWAL-QOL scores revealed that these patients rarely reported dysphagia symptoms. CONCLUSIONS:Subtle differences in swallowing patterns were observed across VT phenotypes, possibly related to adaptive mechanisms resulting in quicker pharyngeal bolus transit. Most patients did not report swallowing issues or dysphagia symptoms. This study is foundational for larger studies on this challenging population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:4 Laryngoscope, 134:4599-4603, 2024.

PURPOSE/UNASSIGNED:This study explored factors influencing speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') decision making surrounding anterior-posterior (AP) view inclusion practices during videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSSs) in the United States. METHOD/UNASSIGNED:SLPs completing VFSSs were recruited to complete an online anonymous survey. Questions represented six constructs of interest including: (a) clinician demographics, (b) practice patterns, (c) diagnostic perceptions, (d) professional influences, (e) training and education, and (f) logistical facilitators and barriers. Binary logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between construct items and likelihood of AP view inclusion. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:= .008). CONCLUSION/UNASSIGNED:Environmental factors and organizational culture heavily influence AP view inclusion practices.

This aim of this study is to characterize the nature and pathophysiology of dysphagia after ACDF surgery by precisely and comprehensively capturing within-subject changes on videofluoroscopy between preoperative and postoperative time points. 21 adults undergoing planned primary ACDF procedures were prospectively recruited and enrolled. Participants underwent standardized preoperative and six-week postoperative videofluoroscopic swallow studies. Videos were blindly rated using the Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) and analysis of total pharyngeal residue (%C2-4²), swallowing timing, kinematics, and anatomic change was completed. Linear mixed-effects modeling was used to explore the relationships between possible predictor variables and functional outcomes of interest that changed across timepoints. There was no change in PAS scores across timepoints. Total pharyngeal residue (%C2-C4²) was increased postoperatively (p < 0.001). Our statistical model revealed significant main effects for timepoint (p = 0.002), maximum pharyngeal constriction area (MPCA_N) (p < 0.001), and maximum thickness of posterior pharyngeal (PPWT_MAX) (p = 0.004) on the expression of total pharyngeal residue. There were significant two-way interactions for timepoint and MPCA_N (p = 0.028), timepoint and PPWT_MAX (p = 0.005), and MPCA_N and PPWT_MAX (p = 0.010). Unsurprisingly, we found a significant three-way interaction between these three predictors (p = 0.027). Our findings suggest that in planned ACDF procedures without known complications, swallowing efficiency is more likely to be impaired than airway protection six weeks after surgery. The manifestation of impaired swallowing efficiency at this timepoint appears to be driven by a complex relationship between reduced pharyngeal constriction and increased prevertebral edema.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Traditionally, kinematic measures on videofluoroscopy require the use of an external scalar (such as a penny) to transform pixels to absolute distances. Videofluoroscopy is subject to image magnification based on the distance of the feature of interest to the X-ray source. However, the impact of the position/location of the external scalar on swallowing measures is unknown. Our goal was to systematically investigate the accuracy of various common external scalar locations in lateral and anterior-posterior (A-P) view. METHOD/METHODS:U.S. pennies were taped to a styrofoam head in three positions (on the left and right lateral neck and in midline submentally). Locations were measured to ensure equal left and right, as well as midline, placement. A metal screwdriver (6 mm in diameter) was inserted into the premanufactured hole that is centrally located at the bottom of the styrofoam head. The head was centered on a medical tray and placed in the middle of a Siemens Alpha C-arm Fluoroscope field. ImageJ was used to measure penny length in pixels (three locations) in both lateral and A-P views. Penny length was known (19.05 mm), and, therefore, used to derive screwdriver size (for each location) for comparison to the actual screwdriver size. RESULTS:All scalars overestimated the screwdriver size ranging from 6.55 to 7.87 mm, representing a 9%-31% inflation. Scalars closer to the X-ray source had the largest magnification. CONCLUSIONS:Our results confirm that image magnification of external scalars is a significant source of variability that is currently unaccounted for in the swallowing literature. Recommendations for future research design/measurement methods are provided.

OBJECTIVE:Dysphagia is the most commonly reported complication of annterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery. However, the incidence of dysphagia post-ACDF varies widely-partly attributable to differing outcome measures used to capture dysphagia. Our objective was to conduct a scoping review of the literature to quantify which dysphagia outcome measures have been employed post-ACDF and examine trends by study design, year, and location. METHODS:After removing duplicates, 2396 abstracts were screened for inclusion. A total of 480 studies were eligible for full-text review. After applying exclusion criteria, data was extracted from 280 studies. We extracted the dysphagia outcome measure(s), study design (prospective vs retrospective), year, and location (country). Approximately 10% of studies were repeated for intra-rater agreement. RESULTS:In total, 317 dysphagia outcome measures were reported in 280 studies (primarily retrospective-63%). The largest proportion of outcome measures were categorized as "unvalidated patient-reported outcome measures" (46%), largely driven by use of the popular Bazaz scale. The next most common categories were "insufficient detail" and "validated patient-reported outcome measures" (both 16%) followed by "chart review/database" (13%) and instrumental assessment (7%). Studies examining dysphagia post-ACDF steadily increased over the years and the use of validated measures increased in the past 10 years. CONCLUSIONS:This scoping review of the literature highlights that nearly half of the ACDF dysphagia literature relies on unvalidated patient-reported outcome measures. The current understanding of the mechanism, timeline, and presentation of dysphagia post-ACDF are likely limited due to the metrics that are most commonly reported in the literature.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:We quantified pharyngeal residue using pixel-based methods in a normative data set, while examining influences of age, gender, and swallow task. METHOD/METHODS:). Logistic regression models explored predictors of residue versus no residue. Generalized linear mixed models explored predictors of nonzero residue. Spearman rho explored relationships between ASPEKT total residue scores and MBSImP Component 16 (Pharyngeal Residue) scores. RESULTS:per year). As ASPEKT total residue values increased, MBSImP Component 16 scores also increased. CONCLUSIONS:Pharyngeal residue amounts were very low in healthy adults. Residue presence can be influenced by age, gender, and swallow task. However, when present, the amount of pharyngeal residue was only associated with increasing age. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL/BACKGROUND:https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21957221.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW/OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this review is to summarize current evidence regarding the relationship between sarcopenia of the swallowing muscles, dysphagia, malnutrition, and frailty in the context of aging. Further, this review will provide preliminary support for proactive swallowing exercises to reverse and/or prevent sarcopenia of the swallowing muscles. RECENT FINDINGS/RESULTS:Recent studies lend support to a cyclic relationship between sarcopenia of the swallowing muscles, dysphagia, malnutrition, and frailty. Unfortunately, all studies are limited by their study design and lack instrumental imaging of swallowing function. Research (in the limbs) supports the use of proactive exercises and protein supplementation to reverse sarcopenia, especially in prefrail individuals. This provides a foundation to design and test similar preventive exercises for the swallowing muscles. SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS:As the population is rapidly aging, it is vital to understand how the natural loss of muscle in aging impacts swallowing function and the downstream impact on nutritional and physical function. Prospective, longitudinal research with sophisticated outcome measures are required to fully understand this cycle and provide an opportunity to test methods for interrupting the cycle.