Bonnie Martin-Harris

Swallowing‐Related Quality of Life After Head and Neck Cancer Treatment

Objectives: To determine the role of treatment modality in swallowing outcome after head and neck cancer treatment and to identify potential risk factors for posttreatment dysphagia.

Interrater Reliability of Videofluoroscopic Swallow Evaluation

The past two decades have brought an enormous widening of interest in and knowledge about swallowing disorders. The most frequently used technique for swallow evaluation is X-ray videofluoroscopy. Most interventions are based on this examination. Only a few studies assessing interobserver reliability of videofluoroscopy have been published. The aim of our study was to assess the interobserver reliability of videofluoroscopy for swallow evaluation. Fifty-one consecutive dysphagic patients referred for videofluoroscopy were entered into the study regardless of their underlying disorder. The first swallow (5 ml of a semisolid radio-opague contrast media) of each patient was assessed in the lateral projection by 9 independent, experienced observers from different international swallow centers. All studies were evaluated according to a standardized protocol sheet and the interobserver reliability was calculated. The interobserver reliabilities assessed as kappa coefficient for parameters of the oral and pharyngeal phase, for the temporal occurrence of penetration/aspiration, and for the location of bolus residue ranged from 0.01 to 0.56. High reliability with an intraclass coefficient of 0.80 was achieved only with the well defined penetration/aspiration score. Our study underlines the need for exact definitions of the parameters assessed by videofluoroscopy, in order to raise interobserver reliability. To date, only aspiration is evaluated with high reliability by videofluoroscopy, whereas the reliability of all other parameters of oropharyngeal swallow is poor.

Clinical implementation of laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy: Challenges and evolution

High-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) captures the true intracycle vibratory behavior of the vocal folds, which allows for overcoming the limitations of videostroboscopy for more accurate objective quantification methods. However, the commercial HSV systems have not gained widespread clinical adoption because of remaining technical and methodological limitations and an associated lack of information regarding the validity, practicality, and clinical relevance of HSV. The purpose of this article is to summarize the practical, technological and methodological challenges we have faced, to delineate the advances we have made, and to share our current vision of the necessary steps towards developing HSV into a robust tool. This tool will provide further insights into the biomechanics of laryngeal sound production, as well as enable more accurate functional assessment of the pathophysiology of voice disorders leading to refinements in the diagnosis and management of vocal fold pathology. The original contributions of this paper are the descriptions of our color high-resolution HSV integration, the methods for facilitative playback and HSV dynamic segmentation, and the ongoing efforts for implementing HSV in phonomicrosurgery, as well as the analysis of the challenges and prospects for the clinical implementation of HSV, additionally supported by references to previously reported data.

Clinical Utility of the Modified Barium Swallow

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the immediate and clinically relevant information gained from the modified barium swallow study and to determine the impact of the procedure on patient management. A database containing a nonrandom sample of 608 swallowing studies was reviewed. Results showed that only 10.4% of the studies were classified as normal examinations and aspiration occurred in 32.4%. However, swallowing abnormality without aspiration was recorded in 57.2% of the studies. Five additional outcome variables were assessed: referrals made to other specialties, effectiveness of applied compensatory strategies, treatment recommendations, mode of intake change, and diet grade change. Nearly 83% of the 608 studies showed change in at least one of the variables: needed referral to a specialist was identified on 26.3%; compensatory strategies that improved swallow physiology were identified on 48.4%; swallowing therapy was recommended on 37.2%; changes in mode of intake occurred on 31.4%; and diet texture changes were recommended on 43.8%. The low percentage of normal studies coupled with the high percentage of change in measurable variables indicate high clinical utility for the modified barium swallow study. The misguided tendency to refer to the modified barium study only as a tool for identifying aspiration and the appropriate utilization of the examination for identification of underlying abnormality in swallowing physiology are explained.

The videofluorographic swallowing study.

This article describes the evidence for the physiologic foundation and interpretation of the videofluorographic swallowing study (VFSS). The purpose and clinical efficacy of VFSS are explained. Standardization of the VFSS procedure, protocol, interpretation, and reporting is highlighted as a critical step in future clinical practice and research. Individualized evidenced-based rehabilitation strategies are presented as key components that are systematically applied during the VFSS procedure and integrated into the swallowing management plan. A new tool that has been developed and tested for the quantification of swallowing impairment is introduced.

Clinical Validity of the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE Outcome Tools with Respect to Bolus Flow Measures

The aim of this study was to quantify the association between a dysphagia-specific quality of life (SWAL-QOL) and quality of care (SWAL-CARE) questionnaire and four measures of bolus flow. Three hundred eighty-six people with oropharyngeal dysphagia completed a videofluoroscopic examination of their swallowing structure and physiology. They also completed the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE surveys. Measures of bolus flow patterns for each swallow were analyzed from videofluoroscopic recordings and correlated with the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE scale scores. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE scales were modestly related to the four measures of the bolus flow. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE were most related to measures of oral transit duration and total swallow duration. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE scales were least related to pharyngeal transit duration. Results were stronger for semisolid trials than for liquid trials. Results were generally weak for the Penetration Aspiration Scale. For all of the significant relationships, the greater the bolus flow severity, the worse the quality of life. The observed modest correlations suggest that patient-centered quality-of-life measures and clinician-driven bolus flow measures provide distinct yet complementary information about oropharyngeal dysphagia. Both sets of measures should be used in dysphagia effectiveness and outcomes research.

Coordination of swallowing and respiration in normal sequential cup swallows

Objectives: To establish normative data on laryngeal vestibular closure patterns and respiratory phase patterns during sequential cup swallows in healthy adults.

Physiologic model of oropharyngeal swallowing revisited

Objective: The purposes of this investigation were to determine whether the temporal onsets of swallow events segment into oral and pharyngeal phases, to test the interdependence of temporal onsets of swallow events, and to determine the influence of age on total swallow duration. Study Design and Setting: The onsets of swallowing and respiratory measures were studied in 76 healthy normal individuals. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a 2-factor solution but did not support the hypothesized 2-phase structure (ie, oral and pharyngeal). Two of the onsets, apnea onset and apnea offset, formed a single factor that explained 12.6% of the variation among the 11 onset times. The other 9 onsets formed a second factor that explained 66.4% of the variation. Age accounted for modest variation in total swallow duration. Conclusions: The two factors, oropharyngeal and respiratory, explained 79% of the variation among the 11 onset times. Significance: This finding speaks to the overlap between the initiation of oral and pharyngeal components of swallowing in adults and highlights the artificiality of separating the swallowing continuum into isolated phases.

Independent effects of socioeconomic and psychological social determinants of health on self-care and outcomes in Type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the independent effects of socioeconomic and psychological social determinants of health on diabetes knowledge, self-care, diabetes outcomes and quality of life. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Cross-sectional sample of 615 adults from two adult primary care clinics in the southeastern United States. Primary outcome variables were diabetes knowledge, self-care behaviors (diet, exercise, medication adherence, blood sugar testing, foot care) and diabetes outcomes (HbA1c, low-density lipoprotein, blood pressure, physical component summary score of SF12 quality of life, mental component summary score of SF12 quality of life). Covariates included age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, health literacy and comorbidity. Linear regression models were used to assess independent associations controlling for covariates. RESULTS In final adjusted models, significant associations for HbA1c included education [β = -0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.36 to -0.08], income (β = -0.66, CI: -1.30 to -0.16), self-efficacy (β = -0.12, CI: -0.15 to -0.08) and diabetes distress (β = 0.43, CI: 0.14 to 0.72). Significant associations for self-care included medication adherence with diabetes distress (β = -0.58, CI: -0.91 to -0.25) and perceived stress (β = -0.12, CI: -0.18 to -0.05) and exercise with depression (β = -0.06, CI: -0.10 to -0.01) and self-efficacy (β = 0.06, CI: 0.01 to 0.10). Significant associations for quality of life included depression (β = -0.08, CI: -0.12 to -0.03), serious psychological distress (β = -0.09, CI: -0.12 to -0.05), social support (β = 0.01, CI: 0.001 to 0.02) and perceived stress (β = -0.12, CI: -0.19 to -0.06). CONCLUSIONS Social determinants of health were significantly associated with diabetes self-care and outcomes with socioeconomic factors being most often associated with diabetes outcomes and psychological factors, specifically self-efficacy and perceived stress being most often associated with self-care and quality of life.

Clinical implications of respiratory-swallowing interactions.

Purpose of reviewSwallowing disorders impact the health and quality of millions of lives of patients across the age spectrum. The broad scope of the problem is in contrast to the volume of methods that we have to treat the problem. Investigators are testing interventions that go beyond the swallowing system and are targeting those that cross or overlap with swallowing function. This review will highlight the potential clinical implications of respiratory–swallowing cross-system interaction in health and disease. Recent findingsA collection of current studies demonstrates a tight neural coupling between the central control of respiration and swallowing. Results from recent studies suggest that this neural coupling may be altered under certain conditions of development, age, disease, and eating/swallowing tasks. SummaryThe functional significance of cross-system neural control on respiratory–swallowing coordination is far from understood. Preliminary data, however, show destabilization of respiratory–swallowing patterns in various neurological diseases and in head and neck cancer. These findings suggest the need to develop a line of research that tests the effects of therapeutic strategies that transcend swallowing and include cross-system interactions such as respiratory–swallow phase patterning.