Respiratory‐swallow coordination and swallowing impairment in head and neck cancer

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Respiratory‐swallow coordination and swallowing impairment in head and neck cancer Via Head & Neck Abstract Background The aim of the study was to determine the link between frequency of optimal respiratory‐swallow coordination, swallowing impairment, and airway invasion in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Method A cross‐sectional study of a heterogeneous group of HNC patients (49), precancer (N = 30) or postcancer treatment (N = 29), participated in a single Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBSS) with synchronized respiratory data. Results Spearman correlation coefficients revealed significant negative correlations between optimal respiratory‐swallow phase pattern and objective measures of swallowing impairment: penetration‐aspiration scale max, pharyngeal total, and oral total scores with Spearman correlation coefficients of −0.53 (z .001), −0.50 (P < .001), and −0.43 (P = .002), respectively. Optimal respiratory‐swallow pattern was significantly decreased (P = .03) in patients after cancer treatment compared with another patient group before cancer treatment. Conclusion These findings indicate that as the percentage of optimal respiratory‐swallow phase patterns increase, swallowing impairment decreases in the HNC patient population. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.