The prevalence and types of oral- and pharyngeal-stage dysphagia in patients with demyelinating diseases based on subjective assessment by the study subjects

Abstract

Background: Studies show that dysphagia is a common problem in patients with demyelinating diseases. However, there are no published studies on dysphagia in this group of patients, which would include the individual phases or the safety and effectiveness of the swallowing process.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of swallowing disorders and to characterize them based on subjective assessment by the study subjects with multiple sclerosis and Devic's syndrome.

Method: The study included 72 patients (47 F, 25 M). Patients at risk of dysphagia were identified using the DYMUS, EAT-10 and SDQ questionnaires. To assess the type of oral- and pharyngeal-stage dysphagia, questions in the questionnaires were classified into groups according to symptoms typical of each stage.

Results: The risk of dysphagia and the need for instrumental examination were identified in 37.5% of the study subjects. Pharyngeal-stage dysphagia (repeated swallowing, increased effort of swallowing, cough, a feeling of food sticking in the throat) was reported to occur at a significantly higher frequency. However, no differences were found between difficulty in swallowing liquids and difficulty in swallowing solid food.

Conclusion: There is a need for further research, which should include a detailed dysphagia-oriented diagnosis, with a view to gaining a detailed insight into the pathophysiology of deglutition in this group of patients.

Keywords: Deglutition; Devic's syndrome; Multiple sclerosis; Swallowing disorders.