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Objective:To investigate the incidence of anxiety and depression after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma among persons suffering from dysphagia, and to analyze the related factors.Methods:A total of 143 persons with dysphagia after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma were studied. They completed a general information questionnaire and were evaluated using the hospital anxiety and depression scale.Results:Anxiety was detected in 52 of the subjects (36.3%) and depression in 61 (42.7%). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the average total anxiety score was significantly related to whether the respondent used a gastric tube and whether they lived in a religious household. The average total depression score was related to gastric tube use and to the respondent′s district of residence.Conclusion:Persons with dysphagia after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma often suffer anxiety and depression. The use of a gastric tube increases the risk. The depression of rural residents and those with religious beliefs tends to be milder.
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Objective:To explore the effect of the pharyngeal pressure feedback training on pharyngeal constriction in persons with swallowing disorders caused by brainstem lesions.Methods:Twenty patients with disordered swallowing caused by a brainstem lesion were randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group, each of 10. Both groups received routine swallowing training including oral sensorimotor training, neuromuscular stimulation and balloon catheter dilation, while the intervention group was additionally provided with two weeks of pharyngeal pressure feedback training. Before and after the treatment, both groups were evaluated in terms of the peak pressure of superior and inferior pharyngeal constriction, endoscopically and also using the functional oral intake scale.Results:There was no significant difference between the two groups in any measure before the intervention. Afterward, both groups had improved significantly by all of the measurements, but the average peak upper pharyngeal pressure, the average intake scale score and the endoscopy results of the intervention group were all significantly better than the control group′s averages.Conclusions:Pharyngeal pressure feedback training can significantly relieve swallowing disorders caused by brainstem lesions.
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Objective:To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Ohkuma questionnaire.Methods:The Ohkuma questionnaire was translated and revised, before it was used to investigate 70 elderly patients. Cronbach′s alpha coefficient, Cohen′s kappa coefficient and Pearson correlation were used to evaluate the scale′s internal reliability, sub-item retest reliability and total score retest reliability. KMO and Bartlett tests were used to evaluate the validity. The correlation between the Chinese version of the Ohkuma questionnaire and ratings from video fluoroscopy before and after treatment was used to evaluate the scale′s discrimination ability.Results:The Cronbach′s alpha of the Chinese version of Ohkuma questionnaire was 0.831, with 0.814 in the initial evaluation and 0.808 in a second evaluation. The Cohen′s kappas of the 15 sub-items ranged from 0.728 to 1.000. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the total score was 0.914. The scale′s KMO value was 0.701. A t-test of the Ohkuma scores before and after treatment showed a statistically significant difference.Conclusion:The revised Chinese Ohkuma questionnaire has good reliability, validity and discriminatory power. It can be used to screen for dysphagia among the elderly.
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Objective:To explore the application of digital acoustic analysis in assessing the risk of aspiration among persons with dysphagia using the Praat speech analysis software.Methods:The swallowing of 46 stroke survivors with dysphagia was studied using video fluoroscopy. Each patient was required to pronounce " yi/i/" 3 times before and after taking each mouthful of food, and their voice samples were collected. The subjects were divided into a non-aspiration group of 16 and an aspiration group of 30 based on their penetration-aspiration scale scores. Fundamental frequency, relative average perturbation (RAP), jitter, shimmer, amplitude perturbation quotient and harmonic-to-noise ratio were compared between the two groups before and after taking food.Results:For the non-aspiration group, there was no significant difference in the acoustic data before and after eating. For the aspiration group there were significant differences in fundamental frequency, relative average perturbation and jitter before and after taking food. The average RAP and jitter of the non-aspiration group were significantly better than the aspiration group′s averages before eating. After eating, however, significant differences were observed only in average jitter.Conclusions:Analyzing perturbation and jitter can help to identify persons at risk of aspiration.
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Objective:To explore the value of flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) in guiding the decannulation of neurological disease patients with dysphagia after a tracheotomy.Methods:The FEES results of 188 neurological disease patients with dysphagia who had undergone a tracheotomy were analyzed retrospectively. The utility of FEES evaluation indexes (including glottis activity, the classification of pharyngeal secretions and residues as well as penetration-aspiration grade) for predicting the success of decannulation was explored.Results:One hundred and nine of the patients (the success group) were decannulated successfully and 79 (the failure group) were not, a success rate of 57%. The abnormal glottis activity rate among the failure group was 55%, significantly higher than among the success group (21%). The pharyngeal secretion classifications and penetration-aspiration grades among the success group were also significantly lower than among the failure group, on average. The average course of recovery from the tracheotomy was 184 days in the success group, significantly shorter than that of the failure group (292 days). No significant differences in residues were observed.Conclusion:The glottis activity, secretions and intake aspiration evaluated using FEES are of great value for guiding the decannulation of neurological disease patients with dysphagia after a tracheotomy.
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Objective:To explore the effect of high-flow airway humidification on aspiration and residues in cases of dysphagia after a tracheotomy.Methods:Seventeen persons with dysphagia after a tracheotomy were asked to swallow 5ml of a thick liquid when their tracheal cannula was either connected to a high-flow airway humidification system or blocked, or the cuff was empty or full. Endoscopic evaluation was then used to grade the residue and aspiration in the different conditions.Results:There were significant differences in the residuals grading and aspiration among the four conditions. The average penetration-aspiration scale grade was significantly lower when the subject was connected to high-flow airway humidification than in the other three conditions. The grade of residuals was also significantly lower.Conclusion:High-flow airway humidification can effectively improve the swallowing of persons with dysphagia after a tracheotomy.
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Objective:To observe the immediate effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on the initiation of swallowing among stroke survivors with dysphagia.Methods:Forty-two patients with delayed swallowing initiation were asked to eat 3 boluses of a thin liquid before and during NMES stimulation. The process was recorded and analyzed using a digital data acquisition and analysis system, including the initiation of the pharyngeal swallow (IPS), oral transit time (OTT), larynx closure duration (LCD), and pharynx transit time (PTT). They were also evaluated using the Rosenbek penetration-aspiration scale (PAS).Results:During NMES, significant improvement was observed in the average IPS, PAS and OTT results compared to before the intervention. There was, however, no significant difference in the average LCD or PTT. No obvious adverse reactions were observed during the stimulation.Conclusion:NMES has an immediate effect on improving IPS, PAS and OTT, and can be used as a new compensatory early treatment for stroke survivors with dysphagia.
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Objective:To explore the clinical utility of tongue pressure resistance feedback training in the treatment of post-stroke dysphagia.Methods:Twenty stroke survivors with dysphagia were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. Both groups were given conventional swallowing rehabilitation training, while the experimental group was additionally provided with tongue pressure resistance feedback training. Before and after the treatment, MBSImp analysis and the Rosenbek penetration aspiration scale were used to quantify the control of the tongue, food delivery, oral residue, laryngeal elevation, hyoid bone movement, epiglottis turnover, larynx closure, vestibular larynx closure, pharyngal peristalsis and contraction, opening of the upper esophageal sphincter UES, contraction of the base of the tongue, pharyngeal residue and aspiration.Results:No significant differences were observed between the two groups before the intervention. Afterward the average pharyngeal period and aspiration score of the experimental group had decreased significantly compared with the control group′s values.Conclusions:Tongue pressure resistance feedback training is effective in improving pharyngeal swallowing and reducing the risk of aspiration after swallowing.
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Objective@#To explore the relationships among tongue pressure, hyoid composite movement and pharynx phase activity among stroke survivors with dysphagia.@*Methods@#Videofluoroscopy was used to observe the swallowing performance of 13 stroke survivors with dysphagia. Their tongue pressure was also measured. Correlations were sought among the tongue pressure, hyoid motion, the pharynx contraction ratio and the duration of upper oesophageal sphincter opening.@*Results@#Tongue pressure was found to be significantly positively correlated with the duration of upper oesophageal sphincter opening. The distance of forward movement of the hyoid and the pharynx contraction ratio were also significantly positively correlated.@*Conclusion@#The tongue muscle and hyoid activity can affect the activity in the pharyngeal phase of swallowing.
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Objective To explore the relationships among tongue pressure, hyoid composite movement and pharynx phase activity among stroke survivors with dysphagia. Methods Videofluoroscopy was used to observe the swallowing performance of 13 stroke survivors with dysphagia. Their tongue pressure was also measured. Correlations were sought among the tongue pressure, hyoid motion, the pharynx contraction ratio and the duration of upper oesophageal sphincter opening. Results Tongue pressure was found to be significantly positively correlated with the duration of upper oesophageal sphincter opening. The distance of forward movement of the hyoid and the pharynx contraction ratio were also significantly positively correlated. Conclusion The tongue muscle and hyoid activity can affect the activity in the pharyngeal phase of swallowing.
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Objective To explore the preventive effect of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) on aspiration pneumonia in patients with dysphagia.Methods The clinical data of 43 patients undertaking PEG was retrospectively collected and the incidence of aspiration pneumonia,microbiological examination of sputum and antibiotics use before and after PEG in all the patients were compared.Results After PEG,the incidence of aspiration pneumonia decreased significantly from 90.7％ to 53.5％ according to clinical diagnosis,from 70.4％ to 18.5％ according to the chest imaging.The use of β-lactamase inhibitor compound decreased significantly,but the detection rate of pseudomonas aeruginosa increased significantly compared with that before PEG.Conclusion PEG can decrease the incidence of aspiration and antibiotics use,and may increase the chances of pseudomonas aeruginosa colonization in the lower respiratory tract.
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Objective To explore whether the pattern of dysphagia verified using videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) was associated with the Iocation of the infarction in stroke patients.Methods Ninety-two patients with dysphagia (admitted between January 2015 and August 2016) who had first onset of cerebral infarction confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging were included in this study.They were divided into a unilateral brainstem group (n =29),a left hemisphere (cortex + white matter) group (n =37) and a right hemisphere (cortex + white matter) group (n=26) according to the location of the stroke.All subjects were evaluated using VFSS,and the oral transit time (OTT),triggering of pharyngeal swallowing (TPS),presence of residue in the vallecular and pyriform sinus,penetration,aspiration,cough reaction and upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opening were recorded and compared among the three groups.Results There were no significant differences among the three groups in OTT (X2 =0.712,P=0.918),TPS (1.564,P =0.458),penetration (X2 =5.615,P=0.060) and cough reaction (X2 =5.882,P=0.053).The unilateral brainstem group had significantly more residue in the vallecular and pyriform sinus than the left hemisphere group (X2=6.508,P=0.011).Aspiration was significantly more frequently found in the unilateral brainstem group than in the left hemisphere group (X2=7.803,P =0.005).The unilateral brainstem group was more likely to have insufficient UES opening than the left hemisphere (X2=29.555,P＜0.001) and right hemisphere groups (X2=24.630,P＜0.001).Conclusions Unilateral brainstem stroke is more likely to cause dysphagia than the unilateral cerebral hemisphere stroke,characterized by the abnormal residue in the vallecular and pyriform sinus,aspiration and the degree of UES opening.No significant differences were found in the dysphagia between stroke survivors with stroke in right and left hemispheres.
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Objective To explore the effect of hierarchical executive function training on executive dysfunction among stroke survivors.Methods Thirty-six recovering stroke survivors with executive dysfunction were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=18) and a control group (n=18).Both groups received routine rehabilitation training and medication for three weeks,but the experimental group also received working memory training,inhibitory control training,set shifting training,and central executive function training.Before and after the training,everyone's cognitive functioning was screened using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),and executive functioning was evaluated using the digit span test (DST),the color trail test (CTT),the complex fluency test and the simple fluency test.Results Before the training there were no significant differences in clinical indicators between the two groups.After the treatment,the average MoCA,DST,CTT complex fluency test and simple fluency test scores of the experimental group had all improved significantly,but no significant improvement in any of the measurements was observed in the control group except for a significant improvement in their average MoCA score.Conclusion Hierarchical executive function training can improve the sub-components of executive function among recovering stroke survivors,including working memory,set shifting and fluency.
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Objective To explore the effect of hierarchical executive function training on executive dysfunction among stroke survivors.Methods Thirty-six recovering stroke survivors with executive dysfunction were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=18) and a control group (n=18).Both groups received routine rehabilitation training and medication for three weeks,but the experimental group also received working memory training,inhibitory control training,set shifting training,and central executive function training.Before and after the training,everyone's cognitive functioning was screened using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),and executive functioning was evaluated using the digit span test (DST),the color trail test (CTT),the complex fluency test and the simple fluency test.Results Before the training there were no significant differences in clinical indicators between the two groups.After the treatment,the average MoCA,DST,CTT complex fluency test and simple fluency test scores of the experimental group had all improved significantly,but no significant improvement in any of the measurements was observed in the control group except for a significant improvement in their average MoCA score.Conclusion Hierarchical executive function training can improve the sub-components of executive function among recovering stroke survivors,including working memory,set shifting and fluency.
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Objective To determine the prevalence of dysphagia among elderly population and patients with stroke,head and neck cancer or neurodegenerative diseases in China.Methods Patients with stroke,head and neck cancer and neurodegenerative diseases,as well as elderly people older than 65 were selected.They were surveyed using the Sydney or Ohkuma swallowing questionnaire and evaluated using the Kubota's water swallow test and videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS).The incidence of dysphagia among patients with the three diseases and elderly population was recorded,and its relationship with age,gender and economic status was also observed.Results For 7000 people surveyed,6102 met the inclusion criteria.Of all the included participants,2363 (38.7％) were identified as having swallowing abnormalities.Dysphagia was found in 46.3％ of stroke patients at the acute phase,56.9％ of stroke patients at the chronic phase,40.8％ of Alzheimer's disease patients,46.2％ of Parkinson's disease patients,12.5％ of multiple sclerosis patients,50.0％ of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients,36.6％ of nasopharyngeal cancer sufferers,58.4％ of laryngeal cancer sufferers.The prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia was 26.4％ and 13.9％ in nursing home-and community-dwelling elderly people.The average prevalence rate of deglutition disorder in the midland (55.0％) was significantly higher than the east coast (38.6％),still significantly higher than the western areas (32.5％) of China (x2=116.2,P＜0.001),representing 3 different economic development status.This study demonstrated that the prevalence of the male (40.0％) was higher than the female (36.3％).Moreover,the prevalence increased with age.Conclusion Dysphagia is of high prevalence among patients with stroke,head and neck cancers or neurodegenerative diseases,as well as the elderly in China.Its prevalence has significant correlations with age,gender and economic status.
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@#Executive function is a superordinate cognitive function of the brain. Executive dysfunction post stroke plays a very impor-tant role in recovery of motor function, which is associated with motor learning, postural control, etc. Executive function training may pro-mote the recovery of motor function. The potential neurological mechanism includes the cerebral network involving a variety of areas.
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Objective: To evaluate the safety and efifcacy of percutaneous ventricular partitioning (PVP) in ischemic heart failure (IHF) patients with apical aneurysm. Methods: A total of 19 IHF patients with apical aneurysm at the age of (68.1 ± 8.2) years were enrolled. The patients received PVP operation with adequate clinical and medical imaging examinations; the safety of operation was evaluated and post-operative clinical events with cardiac function were followed-up. Results: There were 18/19 (95%) patients with successful PVP and 1 had to stop the operation due to unsatisfactory landing of ventricular partitioning device. 2 patients suffered from vessel access related complication and received femoral artery stent implantation. With (252 ± 170) days follow-up study, no post-operative device failure, cardiac death, thromboembolism and HF re-hospitalization occurred. At 3 months after operation, the patients had improved NYHA classiifcation (2.72 ± 0.67) vs (1.67 ± 0.59) and 6 min walk test (462 ± 96) m vs (484 ± 87) m, bothP<0.01. Echocardiography indicated that post-operative left ventricle end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVI) decreased form (137.4 ± 19.1) ml/m2 to (125.6 ± 18.5) ml/m2,P=0.0056 and LVESVI decreased from (89.7 ± 22.3) ml/m2 to (78.8 ± 20.7) ml/m2,P=0.0019; while LVEF increased from (34.8 ± 8.13) % to (41.3 ± 6.2) %, P=0.031. Conclusion: Our preliminary experience showed that with adequate evaluation, PVP was safe and effective in IHF patients with apical aneurysm; short-term follow-up study implied the improved hemodynamic and cardiac function.
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Objective To explore the biomechanical characteristics of the pharynx in patients with aspiration after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods Clinical data on NPC patients with dysphagia admitted between July 2011 and June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.Twenty-three patients were found who had received videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSSs) and whose pharyngeal pressure and upper esophageal sphincter (UES) relaxing were tested using high-resolution solid-state manometry (HRM).The cases were divided into an aspiration group and a non-aspiration group according to the VFSS results.Differences in biomechanical parameters between the 2 groups when taking food of different viscosity were compared.Results Patients with aspiration had significantly higher UES residual pressure when taking thick liquids (20.1± 14.3 mmHg) and paste (18.0± 14.3 mmHg) than patients not aspirating (9.3±9.2 mmHg and 7.2±8.9 mmHg for thick liquid and paste respectively).But no significant difference in average pharyngeal pressure between the two groups was observed.Conclusion Aspiration after radiotherapy may be correlated with increased UES residual pressure.
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Objective To explore effective precautions and interventions for choking in dysphagia patients.Methods Clinical data on f dysphagia patients hospitalized from September 1,1996 to Aug 8,2014 were retrospectively analyzed to correlate choking with gender,age,consciousness,type of aspiration,food-intake pathway and food texture.Results Only 0.17％ of the patients (n =8) were found to have choked,and 6 of them were men.Children,teenagers,the middle-aged and the aged constituted 25％,12.5％,37.5％ and 25％ of the patients respectively.75％ were conscious and 62.5％ displayed silent aspiration.6 cases used oral intake and 2 used nasogastric tube feeding.Among the 8 choking patients,half ate solid food,2 semisolid and 2 liquid food.Six survived and 2 died.Conclusion The risk factors for choking include silent aspiration and oral intake of solid or semisolid food.The successful rescue rate for choking is relatively low,so clinicians should be aware of and try to eliminate these risk factors.
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@#Objective To explore the rehabilitation for dysphagia in young patient after tracheotomy and cricopharyngeal achalasia with-out cough reflex. Methods A child was reviewed, who accepted tracheotomy after resection of cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma for dyspha-gia. The features characterized as severe silent aspiration and failure of cricopharyngeus muscle relaxation. Therapies included Passy-Muir valve placement, breathing exercises, balloon dilatation, surface electromyography biofeedback, and electrical stimulation. Results The aspi-ration was observed when she drank thin liquid with weak cough reflex, and disappeared as eating thick liquid and paste food, with complete cricopharyngeus muscle opening, 7 weeks after treatment. She was removed the tracheotomy tube and nasal feeding tube 11 weeks after treatment, and got sufficient nutrition by fully oral intake. Conclusion The application of Passy-Muir valve and comprehensive swallowing training is helpful for patient post tracheotomy with silent aspiration in decreasing the risk of aspiration, improving cough reflex and prompt-ing swallowing function.