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Pharyngeal residue across the lifespan: a first look at what’s normal
Author(s) -
Kelly A.M,
Macfarlane K,
Ghufoor K,
Drinnan M.J,
LewGor S
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
clinical otolaryngology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.914
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1749-4486
pISSN - 1749-4478
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-4486.2008.01755.x
Subject(s) - medicine , swallowing , residue (chemistry) , surgery , biochemistry , chemistry
Objectives: Without good evidence, post‐swallow pharyngeal residue is considered abnormal. Our aim was to document residue from normal food and fluid boluses in young and elderly healthy populations. Design: Prospective, single‐blind assessment of residue severity from Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing. Setting: Tertiary specialist ENT teaching hospital. Participants: Fifty‐one healthy participants; twenty‐one aged <40 and thirty aged 65+. Each swallowed six representative boluses. Outcomes: Two teams independently rated pharyngeal residue severity at 11 anatomical sites. Results: The mean residue scores were less than 1 when averaged across all boluses and anatomic sites. Differences due to age were slight. Conclusions: Our preliminary data indicate that substantial pharyngeal residue is not common in young or elderly, and probably indicates disordered swallowing.