Chemotherapy/Radiotherapy-Induced Dysphagia in Head and Neck Tumors: A Challenge for Otolaryngologists in Low- to Middle-Income Countries.
Álvaro Gómez, María Alejandra García-Chabur, Daniel Peñaranda and 2 others
PMID 39317843WHAT IT FOUND
This review outlines how chemoradiotherapy causes dysphagia in head and neck cancer, noting silent aspiration occurs in up to 50% of patients.
It recommends early speech pathology evaluation and swallowing exercises to prevent muscle atrophy, especially where advanced imaging is unavailable.
Key findings
01Subjective complaints often miss severe issues, as up to 50% of patients have silent aspiration that requires objective testing to detect.
02Pre-treatment evaluation by a speech pathologist is recommended to identify and compensate for swallowing or weight alterations before or during therapy.
03Prophylactic swallowing exercises are advised to decrease muscle disuse atrophy and reduce the long-term risk of dysphagia.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
As a narrative review, it lacks the systematic search strategy and quality appraisal of a systematic review, potentially introducing selection bias. The recommendations are based on expert consensus and existing literature rather than new primary data from this study. The focus on low- and middle-income country challenges may limit the generalizability of the specific resource constraints described to high-income settings with universal access to advanced diagnostics.
Declared interests
Not reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the recommendation for swallowing exercises or early evaluation as evidence from a controlled trial in this paper; these are consensus-based 'pearls' derived from a narrative review, not results of a new study testing these interventions.