IDDSI-compliant recipes containing oral contrast agents for radiological dysphagia diagnostics

Videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS), alongside flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing, represents the gold standard for diagnosing swallowing disorders and to determine severity, pathophysiology, and effective interventions, including texture modification. The clinical swallowing examination and assessment supplements these instrumental methods and serves as the basis for the modules of swallowing diagnostics. The adaptation of food and drink consistencies in dysphagia management has become widespread. For valid results of a VFSS with respect to confirming swallowing safety and efficiency of different liquid and food consistencies and textures, the use of uniform recipes containing radio-opaque contrast media is important. Our goal was to identify recipes that would produce consistencies that conform to the liquid and food levels of 0–7, as defined by the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI), with barium- and iodine-based contrast media, xanthan gum-based thickeners, and other edible components, which also show sufficient contrast on VFSS. In this study, we determined the different recipes using IDDSI testing methods and explored their radiological characteristics using a Philips MultiDiagnost Eleva fluoroscopy system and two different fluid contrast agents: barium- (Micropaque®) and iodine-based (Telebrix®). All recipes showed sufficient contrast on fluoroscopy and could be visualized in the amounts used for swallowing examinations. They were practical and easy to implement in terms of production and availability of the components. The homogeneity of the recipes diminished with higher IDDSI levels, which represent transitional food, but appeared still sufficient for fluoroscopic examination. The opacity did not significantly differ between the barium- and iodine-based contrast media.