ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to describe the longitudinal performance of oropharyngeal swallowing in individuals with type 1 myotonic dystrophy. A single case report of a 66-year-old man with a neurological diagnosis in 2010. He was submitted to his first clinical and objective evaluation of swallowing four years after the neurological diagnosis. Seven objective evaluations of swallowing were performed by fiberopitic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing using pureed food, thickened liquid and liquid consistencies (3, 5, and 10 ml) during the diagnosis and management of swallowing over a period of one year and two months. Laryngeal sensitivity, oral spillage and pharyngeal residues were evaluated using the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale, and laryngeal penetration and/or laryngotracheal aspiration were determined using the Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS). No change in laryngeal sensitivity was observed during the study period, whereas oral spillage, pharyngeal residues and laryngeal penetration were observed since the beginning of the objective evaluations. Four months after the first evaluation, the level of pharyngeal residues of pureed consistency changed from trace to moderate in piriform recess, and in the vallecula the increase in the severity index was demonstrated in the last month. There was an increase in PAS score for all consistencies tested. Laryngotracheal aspiration occurred with thin liquid in the last month. During the follow-up of oropharyngeal swallowing in myotonic dystrophy type 1, pharyngeal residues and laryngeal penetration were present since the beginning of the evaluations, but laryngotracheal aspiration occurred only in the last month of follow-up and with thin liquid.
Keywords:
Deglutition; Deglutition disorders; Endoscopy; Myotonic dystrophy; Neurology