Oropharyngeal Dysphagia: Current diagnostic approaches

Swallowing disorders are frequent and cause increased mortality due to aspiration induced pneumonia, malnutrition and deterioration of quality of life. The demographic trend of development of society indicates a continuous increase of dysphagia in the future. Dysphagia occurs at any age, however, its prevalence increases with age. The causes of dysphagia in pediatrics and adolescence differ from those in middle age and senoirs. The main causes of oropharyngeal dysphagia include neurodegenerative and neurological diseases, tumors of the head and neck and the consequences of their treatment. Otorhinolaryngologists are often the first contact person patients turn to with problems of choking and coughing while eating. Diagnosis of swallowing is comlex, especially in cases of silent aspiration, when food enterst the lower respiratory tract without a cough reflex. Currenty, there is no common approach or algorithm for diagnosing oropharyngeal dysphagia. Questionnaires in many languages facilitate by collection of anamnesis and specific symptoms of dysphagia. Screening dysphagia tests allow rapid and cost-effective detection of dysphagia and determinate the necessity for further instrumental diagnostics. The gold standart of diagnostic for oropharyngeal dysphagia are the fiber-endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and videofluoroscopy. Each of theese methods has its own advantages and limitations. Interdisciplinary collaboration with other specialists plays an important role not only in diagnosing of dysphagia, but also in planing of treatment, ensuring adequate nitrition and improving the quality of life of patients. The article reflects the main aspects of the physiology of the act of swallowing and modern diagnostic approach for the oropharyngeal dysphagia. The search for publication war carried out using the electronic databases of Google Scholar, PubMeb, eLIBRARY.RU, international and domestic journals.

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