Pharyngeal phase of swallowing in post-stroke dysphagia: videoendoscopy and speech-language-hearing assessment.

Purpose: To investigate the outcomes of fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of pharyngeal swallowing phase and clinical evaluation of swallowing among dysphagic individuals with and without chronic stroke in different food consistencies.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional and retrospective study based on data collection from medical records. 134 swallowing video endoscopy exams of dysphagic patients were analyzed, in which they were divided into two groups according to the diagnosis of stroke, in which data were collected regarding mobility and strength of the tongue, phonation and cough efficiency, and the pharyngeal signs of dysphagia with four food consistencies from the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI), for comparison between groups. To analyze and classify the severity of pharyngeal residues, the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (YPRSRS) was used by two independent professionals.

Results: There was a significant difference in the presence of pharyngeal residue, laryngeal penetration and laryngotracheal aspiration in all consistencies evaluated (level 0, 2, 4 and 7) (p= <0.001), in addition to the association with multiple swallowing in thin liquid, slightly thickened liquid and solid (level 0, 2 and 7) (p= 0.026).

Conclusion: Dysphagic individuals diagnosed with stroke showed differences in videoendoscope signs of pharyngeal residue, laryngeal penetration and laryngotracheal aspiration, regardless of the food consistency assessed, compared to dysphagic individuals without the diagnosis. Just as there was a difference in the finding of multiple swallowing only in the consistencies of thin liquid, extremely thickened liquid and solid.