Family Medicine & Medical Science Research
Open Access

Abstract

Difficulty Swallowing-The Degree of Dysphagia in the Polish Population Comparing Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing with Surface Electromyography Preliminary Reports

Maciej Tokarski, Hanna Czerniejewska-Wolska, Małgorzata Wierzbicka and Małgorzata Leszczyńska

Study background: Dysphagia is a problem with which patients increasingly seek medical care. Early involvement of specialists (gastroenterologist, ENT surgeons, nutritionists) aid in symptomatic treatment, and offer a good prognosis for the management of swallowing disorders. Symptoms generally arise periodically and on occasion may eradicate on their own. Although elderly patients are inherently predisposed to dysphagia, there is an increased prevalence in the younger population.
Aim: The aim of the project is to develop comprehensive guidelines for dysphagia amongst the Polish population for various age groups. The research will determine the predisposition to dysphagia and the different etiologies that are attributed in the phases of the diseas non-neurological-GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), chronic laryngitis.
Method: Analysis was conducted on a group of 92 patientes. We performed FEES (Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing) with simultaneous superficial electromyography (sEMG) and registration of respiratory patterns in every patient.
Results: During swallowing, biomechanical phenomena occurs-carrying out the plan of the study we can prove the strong correlation between the biomechanical phenomena in the process of swallowing and the corresponding changes in the sEMG recording, correlated with respiratory patterns.
Conclusions: The preliminary results using the algorithm that studies the process of swallowing is a useful starting point for creating broad-based guidelines within the Polish population. The correlation of the results obtained from the sEMG in comparison with FEES examination is very promising.