The relationship between intraoesophageal pH value and motor activity of the lower oesophageal body and sphincter was investigated by simultaneous evaluation of intraluminal pressure and pH in 13 patients complaining of heartburn and regurgitation. One hundred and thirty one episodes of gastro-oesophageal reflux were recorded. One hundred and eighteen (90.1%) were preceded by a swallow (one to ...

During swallowing, airway protection is achieved in part by laryngeal elevation. Although multiple muscles are normally active during laryngeal elevation, neuromuscular stimulation of select muscles was evaluated to determine which single muscle or muscle pair best elevates the larynx and should be considered during future studies of neuromuscular stimulation in dysphagic patients. Hooked-wire ...

A 128-channel pulse-swallow frequency synthesizer includes a 3-mW VCO, a 2.2-mW 16/17 dual-modulus prescaler, a 9-b program counter, and a 7-b swallow counter. The circuit is fully integrated with the exception of the loop-filter capacitor. The ECL prescaler incorporates current sharing and circuit stacking techniques to reduce power consumption. Fabricated in a 1m, 20-GHz BiCMOS process, the c...

To evaluate postextubation swallowing dysfunction (PSD) 21 days after endotracheal extubation and to examine whether PSD is time-limited and whether age matters.For this prospective cohort study, we evaluated 151 adult critical care patients (≥20 years) who were intubated for at least 48 hours and had no pre-existing neuromuscular disease or swallowing dysfunction. Participants were assessed fo...

PRESENTATION A 72-year-old man complained of progressive dysphagia for solids associated with a sensation of foreign body in his throat for 2 years. A barium swallow showed a bridging osteophyte between C4 and C5 vertebrae indenting the oesophagus posteriorly and displacing it anteriorly. OUTCOME He refused surgical intervention and was given dietary advice. After 6 months, his weight was ste...

Cryptococcus neoformans is an encapsulated yeast that can cause cryptococcosis, a life-threatening infection that mainly occurs in immunocompromised patients. The major environmental sources of C. neoformans have been shown to be soil contaminated with avian droppings. In the present study, we evaluated the isolation of C. neoformans from swallow (Hirundo rustica) excreta in two northern cities...

Barium studies investigations (barium swallow, barium meal and barium enema) are the basic routine radiological examination, where barium sulphate suspension is introduced to enhance image contrast of gastrointestinal tracts. The aim of this study was to quantify the patients' radiation doses during barium studies and to estimate the organ equivalent dose and effective dose with those procedure...

Swallowing dysfunction is common after stroke. More than 50% of the 665 thousand stroke survivors will experience dysphagia acutely of which approximately 80 thousand will experience persistent dysphagia at 6 months. The physiologic impairments that result in post-stroke dysphagia are varied. This review focuses primarily on well-established dysphagia treatments in the context of the physiologi...

BACKGROUND The relationship between type of chemoradiation treatment, site of disease, and swallowing function has not been sufficiently examined in patients with head and neck cancer treated primarily with chemoradiation. METHODS Fifty-three patients with advanced-stage head and neck cancer were evaluated before and 3 months after chemoradiation treatment to define their swallowing disorders...

BACKGROUND Radiation alone or concurrent chemoradiation can result in severe swallowing disorders. This manuscript defines the swallowing disorders occurring at pretreatment and 3 and 12 months after completion of radiation or chemoradiation. METHODS Forty-eight patients (10 women and 38 men) participated in this study involving videofluorographic evaluation of oropharyngeal swallow at the 3 ...