Applying manofluorography in the evaluation of dysphagia after brainstem injury / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the swallowing function of patients with dysphagia after brainstem injury using manofluorography (MFG),analyzing the abnormal biomechanical and kinematic parameters as well as any correlation between changes in the pharynx and the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) measured manometrically and changes in the kinematics of the hyoid bone.Methods Thirteen patients with dysphagia after brainstem injury (the patient group) and 13 healthy participants (the control group) underwent manofluorography.Kinematics and biomechanical changes during swallowing were compared between the two groups and the correlations between the observations were analyzed.Results The patient group showed significantly lower maximum pressure and rate of pressure change at the base of the tongue and in the hypopharynx,as well as less hyoid anterior displacement,smaller and briefer UES opening,but significantly higher minimum pressure at UES relaxation.The duration of tongue root elevation and hypopharynx pressure was also shorter than in the control group,on average.There was a negative correlation between hyoid anterior displacement and the minimum pressure on UES relaxation in the control group,and a positive correlation between hyoid anterior displacement and the maximum pressure at the base of the tongue and in the hypopharynx in the patient group.Conclusions The concurrent use of manometry and video-fluorography for evaluating dysphagia can be an objective and effective diagnostic tool for the comprehensive evaluation of swallowing function.